Mending Wings
by theshadowcat
Summary: A wounded comrade, a new friend made. Maybe. Rated for alluded to relationships, language and violence. Please read and review. COMPLETE!
1. Trap

**Author's Note 1:** Hey there, this is the first time I've done a Gargoyle fan fiction and it's been a while since I've seen the show, so if my characterizations are a bit off, I apologize. This will be set after the end of the show. I will be introducing a couple of new characters and I will try to make them as un-Mary Sue as possible. Please remember that writers live for reviews, so please leave one when you're done reading the chapter. Thanks.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything but my own characters and I am not making a profit on this. I do this for my own sense of twisted fun and I will return the Gargoyles in good order, just as soon as I'm done tormenting them.

* * *

They have searched long and hard to find her. When they do find her, she has been waiting for them and she has set a trap. But the intended victim isn't the one caught.

Brooklyn's scream fills the chamber, echoing off of the walls as his wing is trapped under the edge of the cage that was dropped from the ceiling. Demona snarls in frustration, but begins to chant her spell anyways. Goliath is torn between stopping her and helping Brooklyn, but upon seeing the others trying to lift the heavy cage, he turns his sights on his former mate.

He tackles her to the ground and they struggle. Talons and teeth tear at tough exposed flesh and Goliath is briefly reminded the first time they mated. But this time it is not passion that fuels their fire, but hatred. His hatred of her and what she has become and her hatred of human kind are what burns in their hearts and souls now.

With some sort of magical powder, she blinds him briefly with a flash of light. While the damage isn't permanent, it gives her the chance she needs to make her escape. Goliath blinks his eyes clear for a few minutes as the others finally manage to lift the bottom of the cage enough for Brooklyn to slide his wing out from under it.

By the time Goliath is able to see again, Brooklyn is curled up on the floor in the center of his prison, trembling and whimpering quietly in pain. The clan leader swiftly joins the others and with his help they easily lift the cage, tipping it onto its side. When Brooklyn doesn't get up after about a minute, Goliath quickly goes to him.

Brooklyn has his eyes closed tight and he's gasping for breath as the pain wracks his body. Goliath gets his first good look at Brooklyn's wing and draws a sharp breath. Between the second and third joint, the bone has been shattered and blood is slowly soaking the floor. Goliath very carefully crouches down next to his fallen comrade and gently lays a hand on his shoulder.

"Brooklyn, can you here me?" Goliath asks softly.

"Yessss," Brooklyn hisses through the pain.

"I'm going to carry you back to the castle," Goliath states. "We can't chance Demona coming back during the day. Are you ready?"

"No, but do it any way," Brooklyn groans as he looks up at his leader.

With great care, Goliath slides his arms under his prone friend and gently lifts him. Brooklyn howls in pain as he clenches his fists, his talons cutting into his own flesh and drawing blood. As Goliath holds him, the others quickly find items to help with the transport. Clean rags are used to protect the wound from the elements and ropes are uses to tie Brooklyn's wing to his body causing more cries and whimpers from their wounded friend, but it can't be helped.

As soon as they are ready, they exit the cave that Demona had hidden herself in and step out into the cool night air. A few bats zip past them and they ignore their little cousins while they open their wings just before launching themselves into the wind. The fates are kind to them and they make good time back to the castle.

Bronx is waiting for them when they return and instantly starts making a fuss when he smells blood. The noise catches the attention of Owen who immediately alerts Xanatos that there's a problem. Within minutes of their landing, Xanatos is running up the stairs towards the group.

"What happened?" the human demands.

"Demona," Goliath snarls as he gently lays Brooklyn on the ground.

"How bad is he?" Xanatos asks.

"I'll be fine," Brooklyn growls as he rolls over and starts to drag himself to the wall. "It's almost dawn. Just let me sleep."

The others say nothing as they notice the bloody hand prints left on the ground. The pain and shock have robbed Brooklyn of so much of his strength that he can't even pull himself up onto his roost. He lies there panting and shaking in pain, half hanging onto the wall. Bronx whimpers in sympathy as he crawls on his belly up to his hurt friend and lays his head down on his front paws. Brooklyn smiles through the agony as he places a hand on the hound's head just as the first rays of the sun break over the horizon.

As soon as their transformations are complete, Xanatos goes over to Brooklyn and pulls the blood soaked rags off of his wing. Even he's not ready for the sight of the shattered appendage and he hears a gasp behind him. He turns and sees Fox standing there in her bathrobe with their son in her arms.

"What happened?" she asks her voice barely above a whisper.

"Demona," he repeats as he heads back towards the stairs. "OWEN!"

"You called, sir?" Owen calmly asks as his head pops out of the hole in the floor.

"I need you to find me a doctor," Xanatos orders. "Preferably one who knows something about wings."

"Right away, sir," Owen replies as he takes a brief glance at the injured gargoyle on the parapet.

* * *

A few hours later, Owen enters Xanatos's office with a stack of files in his good hand. He places them on the desk in front of his employer and steps back.

"I found all of the doctors that specialize in unique animals in the area, sir," Owen states without preamble. "I think the one on the top may be our best bet."

"Thank you, Owen, that will be all," Xanatos replies as he opens the first folder.

"Yes, sir," Owen responds before turning and leaving.

* * *

A couple hours later, Xanatos joins Fox and Alexander at the lunch table. Fox is now properly dressed for the day, though the outfit might not last through the meal. Alexander is happily making a mess of his food and splattering it everywhere.

"Care to join us for lunch?" Fox asks as a large blob of something green lands on her blouse and Alexander giggles hysterically.

"I would love too," Xanatos smiles as Fox wipes up the mess on her shirt without looking at it. "I thought that maybe after lunch we could take a little trip."

"Where?" she inquires as he kisses her on the cheek.

"I was thinking the Bronx Zoo," Xanatos answers as he takes his seat, placing a folder on the table next to the placemat while Owen sets his lunch in front of him.

"Any special reason?" she questions, eyeing her husband with a knowing look.

"I hear they have an excellent display of bats," he muses as he takes a bite of his lunch.

"Do they now?" Fox wonders as a smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. "Sounds interesting."

"I'm glad you agree," he grins as he looks over to his assistant. "Owen, please have the car ready to go as soon as we're ready to leave."

"Of course, sir," Owen agrees with a nod just before he turns and leaves the room.

"This should be fun," Fox states as she stands and picks up Alexander from his highchair. "I think we'd better go get cleaned up first though."

"That might be a good idea," Xanatos replies as he takes another bite of food and reopens the file for another look.

* * *

Gwendolyn Knight walks through the employee entrance at the Bronx Zoo and lets out a huge yawn. With her travel mug firmly in hand, she makes her way to her office where she drops off her lunch and purse before heading out to the clinic. Once there she's met by one of the assistants with her case file for the day.

"Anything special going on today, John?" she asks.

"No, Dr. Knight, just the usual stuff," he answers.

"Good," she yawns.

"You really should get more sleep," he chuckles.

"I take care of bats for a living, I'm a night owl by nature and they expect me to be here at the crack of dawn," she grumbles as she takes another swig from her mug.

"It's nearly 10 o'clock," he grins.

"I rest my case," she mumbles as she heads for the cages of sick animals. "How's Freddy doing?"

"He's doing better," he replies as they look in on the flying fox, lifting the blanket covering the cage to do so. "The wing is mending nicely. Maybe next time he'll learn to let ladies go first at the food."

"Especially when the lady is a mommy-to-be," she states as she hands him a pair of leather gloves.

Without a word, he dons the gloves and opens the door to the cage. After a couple of minutes, he's able to convince the sleeping bat to hold onto him instead of perch in the cage. He carefully holds the animal as she examines the injured wing, returning Freddy to his napping spot when the doctor is done.

"He should be able to return to the exhibit tomorrow at the latest," she tells him as she strips off her rubber gloves, makes a notation on the chart, reattaches it to the cage and drops the blanket back in place. "I'm going to go make the rounds now. I'll call if I need anything."

"Sure thing, Dr. Knight," he nods his acknowledgement.

"What's with all the Dr. Knight stuff?" she asks her hand on the door knob.

"The director of the zoo is here today and he's doing the inspection thing," he answers as he pulls his gloves off and drops them on the table next to the bat cage.

"Joy," she growls before she disappears through the door.

* * *

**Author's Note's 2:** Well, there's the set up. Tell me what you think. If you like, I'll write more. 


	2. Meeting

Xanatos and Fox casually walk through the Bronx Zoo with Xanatos pushing his son in the stroller and Owen trailing along behind them. The bright sun warming them, but fortunately the weather is mild enough not to make it uncomfortable. They've already been to the Mouse House and the Butterfly Garden, the later which they left rather quickly after Alexander accidentally started attracting all the butterflies to him with his powers. Fortunately, Puck was able to block the child's abilities long enough for his parents to get him out of there. Anyone who might have seen the magical being just wrote it off as a gimmick the zoo was doing.

"So where to now, my dear?" Xanatos inquires as they make their way along the wide path.

"How about the World of Darkness?" Fox suggests as she looks at the map. "I hear they have some really nice bats."

"Sounds good to me," Xanatos smirks as they turn down another path.

Several minutes later they come up to a building with a picture of bats on the side. As they approach the entrance a balding, portly man wearing a cheap suit that's much too warm for the weather and a young dark haired woman with her hair pulled into a pony tail and wearing a Bronx Zookeepers outfit step out of the building. The man is sweating profusely while the woman looks like she's ready to spit nails.

"I just don't understand why we can't turn up the lights in there," the man complains as he takes a handkerchief out of his pocket and wipes his brow.

"It's call 'The World of Darkness' for a reason, Mr. Weisman," the woman replies, only barely containing her anger. "These are nocturnal animals, if you turn up the lights they think it's day and go to sleep. People want to see animals that are moving, not sleeping."

"Well, sleeping animals are easier to spot than a bunch of darting around shadows, Dr. Knight" Weisman grouses as he takes another swipe at his forehead.

"Except sleeping animals tend to hide when they sleep," Knight points out.

"Then put them in smaller cages," Weisman suggests.

"Besides the fact that we have progressed beyond the need to put wild animals in tiny little cages; that would require remodeling the entire exhibit and that would cost money," Knight explains as calmly as she can. "A lot of money."

"Oh, well, since you put it that way, maybe we'll just leave the exhibit they way it is for now," Weisman huffs. "But if I hear one complaint about how dark it is in there, then the lights are getting turned up."

With that, the man turns on his heel and marches off. They watch as the woman takes several deep calming breaths as she stares daggers at the man's back. With one final snort of disgust, Knight turns and heads back towards the building. Xanatos and the others follow behind her and when she gets to the door she finally notices them and holds the door open for them.

Xanatos pushes the stroller through the door with Fox close behind and both give a nod of thanks as they pass the doctor. As they pass, Knight gets a strange tingling feeling through her body that she hasn't felt in a long time. When Owen walks past her, the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

She frowns at the back of the tall blond man as he goes to open the second door for the couple and she hastily closes the outside door. She follows the strange group from a safe distance trying to figure them out. But it's not until the man pushing the stroller turns his head into profile that she realizes who they are.

She's not sure if she's going to have a heart attack or if her heart will simply explode, but being this close to a man so rich and so handsome is more than her nerves can take. She moves as quickly and as quietly as she can past the people milling around in the dark. When she reaches an employee's only door, she goes through it as fast as she can. Once she's through, she leans against the closed door and gives a sigh of relief and then sends a prayer to anyone who might be listening that they didn't notice her.

* * *

"Well, that was interesting," Xanatos muses as he stares at the closed door that Knight just went through.

"Is she the reason we came here?" Fox inquires as she starts to walk towards the exit.

"I'm not sure," Xanatos responds, following his wife. "Is that the Dr. Knight that you got me the dossier on, Owen?"

"I believe it is, sir," Owen answers. "Her name badge said 'Dr. Gwen Knight.'"

"Then I'm going to have to find a way to talk to her," Xanatos states as they exit the building and blink into the sunlight. "Maybe Mr. Weisman could be of assistance."

* * *

A couple hours and several phone calls later, Xanatos is standing by entrance the Congo Gorilla Forest Exhibit by himself. Fox returned to the castle shortly after Xanatos outlined his plan to meet the doctor, taking Owen and Alexander with her. He glances at his watch, trying not to appear nervous and succeeding spectacularly. Instead he looks extremely bored when Weisman comes scurrying along.

"Mr. Xanatos, what a pleasure to meet you," Weisman gasps as he holds out his hand. "I'm Michael Weisman. I'm sorry to make you wait. Traffic was a nightmare. Well, you know how it is."

"I can't say that I do," Xanatos replies with disdain in his voice as he takes the clammy hand into his own and quickly shakes it. "I usually take my helicopter when I need to get about."

"Ah, yes, well, the advantages of being very rich," Weisman stutters before quickly recovering as he takes out a rather grubby looking handkerchief. "Please, let me show you around. Is there anything in particular that you would like to see?"

"My wife and I were here earlier and we were quite taken by the 'World of Darkness' exhibit," Xanatos tells the sweating man as they start to walk through the late afternoon crowds. "I'd like to see that expanded with bigger habitats for the animals and a wider variety of animals as well."

"Yes, yes, I was just talking to one of our vets about that exhibit earlier today," Weisman excitedly tells the taller man while they walk past the flamingo exhibit. "I'm sure she would be very excited to hear your plans."

"Would she now?" Xanatos replies, almost sounding bored. "Maybe I should talk to her."

"Oh, I'm not sure that would be such a good idea," Weisman suddenly amends, nervously wiping the sweat from his brow.

"And why not?" Xanatos asks a hint of danger in his voice.

"Oh, well, she's very busy you see," Weisman explains hurriedly, stuffing the piece of wet cloth back into his pocket. "Taking care of all of those little critters for us."

"If I'm about to donate a sizable amount of money into this place, I want to make sure that the animals are being well taken care of," Xanatos tells the director. "If I can't meet the doctor that will be taking care of them, I'm sure I can find someplace else that would be more than willing to take my money."

"Oh, of course, since you put it that way," Weisman quickly back peddles as he leads Xanatos into the café and walks up to one of the workers behind the counter. "Please page Dr. Knight for me."

"Who?" the girl who can't be more than sixteen asks.

"Dr. Gwendolyn Knight," Weisman replies testily. "She's the vet that takes care of the bats."

"You mean Bat Girl?" the girl grins. "Sure. What do you need her for?"

"Just tell her that Mr. Weisman needs to see her right away," Weisman nearly growls.

"Ok," the girl responds as she picks up her walkie-talkie.

They listen as the girl behind the counter tries to find the whereabouts of one Bat Girl. After several minutes of calls going back and forth over the radio, a woman's voice comes over the com.

"This is Bat Girl," the voice says. "What's the emergency?"

"No emergency, Bat Girl, but Mr. Weisman wants to see you," the girl replies.

There's a good thirty seconds of silence that Xanatos imagines is being filled on the other end with some creative swearing before Knight replies.

"Please tell Mr. Weisman that if he wishes to talk to me that I'm in the clinic," Knight states, sounding a bit peeved.

"Tell her…," Weisman starts.

"That the clinic will be perfect," Xanatos interrupts. "What better place to meet the good doctor then where she does her work. Don't you agree, Mr. Weisman?"

"Yes, of course," Weisman nods with no enthusiasm at all. "Tell her we'll be there shortly."

The men turn and leave as the girl relays the message. Weisman leads Xanatos through the park, pointing out various areas of interest and how much they cost to build. About fifteen minutes later, they get to a gate marked 'Employees Only' and go through it.

A few minutes more and they're stepping up to the door of a normal looking building with windows all along the walls. Weisman opens the door without even bothering to knock and marches right in.

They're in an examination room with a few stainless steel tables filling the floor area and cabinets and counters lining the walls. The smell of antiseptic hangs heavily in the air and is almost gag worthy. They look around and see Dr. Knight over at one of the examination tables with a man Xanatos hasn't seen before. The man is holding onto a snake that must be at least seven feet long as Knight slides a needle between its scales and starts to administer an injection. The snake hisses its objection as Weisman clears his throat.

"Tell me, Mr. Weisman," Knight says without looking up from what she's doing. "Would you like it if someone interrupted your doctor while he was giving you a shot?"

Weisman sputters in response and Xanatos is about ready to bean this guy for being such a weasel and a jerk. But instead of giving into his impulse, he decides to intervene.

"Dr. Knight, I'm David Xanatos," Xanatos introduces himself.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Xanatos," Knight replies, refusing to look up from her task as her heart starts to race again. "You'll excuse me if I don't shake your hand right away. I'm a little busy right now."

"Of course not," Xanatos assures her. "I thought you took care of the bats."

"Like the other vets that work here, I look after all of the animals," she replies as she slides the needle out of the snake and wipes the spot with an alcohol wipe. "But my specialty is bats."

"And it's your bats that Mr. Xanatos wants to help," Weisman suddenly puts in. "He's thinking about donating money to improve the 'World of Darkness' exhibit."

"Really?" she asks in surprise, finally looking at the billionaire and instantly regretting it as her heart beats even faster. "That's very generous of you Mr. Xanatos."

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Knight's assistant butts in. "Dr. Knight, are you done with Charlie?"

"Yes, John, thank you," Knight replies as she tears her attention away from the incredibly handsome man across the room. "Please return him to his cage. I'd like to see Annie next please."

"Yes, doctor," John nods as he lifts the large reptile from the table and leaves through a door that leads to another room and Xanatos can see rows of cages in it.

"That's quite the impressive snake," Xanatos states as the door closes behind John.

"He's a Burmese Python and he's only a couple years old," Knight replies as she disposes of the needle in a medical waste box before stripping off her rubber gloves. "They can grow to more than twenty feet long and weigh over two hundred pounds by the time they die and they can live for more than twenty-five years."

"What are you feeding him?" Weisman demands.

"Right now, rats that have been thoroughly cleaned and humanely euthanized," Knight replies as she brings out a spray bottle and a paper towel and cleans the table that Charlie had been on. "In another year or so he'll be eating rabbits up to three times a month."

"Why kill the rats for him?" Xanatos asks as the hunter inside him feeling insulted with the idea of having its food killed for it. "Shouldn't he be allowed to hunt and kill his prey?"

"If we were releasing him to the wild, yes," she answers as she finishes cleaning the table and puts the bottle back where it came from as she tosses out the paper towel. "However, this animal is on display here and we want him to look his best. If we threw a live rat in there with him, the damage could be catastrophic. Rats are very nasty when they're cornered."

Before any more questions can be asked about animal husbandry, John returns with an ant eater on a leash.

"I'll examine her on table one, John," Knight states as she goes over to the sink and starts to wash her hands.

"Yes, doctor," John responds as he gently leads the animal over to the table at the other end of the room before picking her up and setting her on the table.

"What's wrong with her?" Xanatos inquires as he watches the assistant carefully handle the animal.

"She's got a runny nose," Knight replies as she dries her hands and then puts on another pair of examination gloves.

Xanatos and Weisman watch in silence as Knight examines the ant eater before giving her a shot as well. After sending John out with the animal and instructing him to start feeding the animals currently housed in the clinic, she cleans table three like she did the other one.

"If say one of your bats had a seriously broken wing, what would you do?" Xanatos asks as she starts to put various boxes away into the cupboards.

"There's a nearby veterinary hospital that we take all the serious cases to," she replies without blinking. "We're not set up to take x-rays or perform surgery here."

"So you just take them to the vet and let them deal with them?" Xanatos inquires, a bit confused.

"No, of course not," she smiles as she continues to busy herself straightening up the room. "The vet isn't trained to take care of exotics. We just use their facilities and technicians. Often one of the regular vets does assist with the procedure, but either one of the other vets here or I would perform the operation."

"You'll excuse me for doubting your abilities, but you look awfully young to be a vet," Xanatos points out.

"I'm only twenty-seven," she admits as she straightens out some files. "I finished my internship almost a year ago."

"Well, Mr. Xanatos, now that you've met the good doctor, what's say we continue our little tour?" Weisman suggest, annoyingly making his presence known.

"Actually, Mr. Weisman, I'd like a moment alone to talk to Dr. Knight myself, if I may," Xanatos counters with a smile that would win over the Devil himself.

She can feel almost every muscle in her body go tense at Xanatos's words. She's sure her heart's simply going to burst as she feels a trickle of sweat run down her back. She can see her hands shaking and the temperature of her face has risen several degrees so she knows she must be blushing like a teenager.

_Oh, god, one of the handsomest men in the world wants to talk to me alone,_ she thinks in a panic. _One of the handsomest, richest men in the world wants to talk to me alone. One of the handsomest, richest and most decidedly _married_ men in the world wants to talk to me alone. One of the handsomest, richest, most decidedly _married_ men in the world who's associated with _**her** _wants to talk to me alone._

She's so lost in her own thoughts that she doesn't hear Weisman's objections or Xanatos's reasoning or Weisman leaving or Xanatos walking up to her. It's not until Xanatos lays a hand on her shoulder causing her to nearly jump right out of her skin. She inadvertently gives out a little squeak of surprise and she can feel her face get even hotter.

"Oh, um, ah," she stammers, anything that might have resembled composure quickly flying out the window with him standing so close.

"What do you know about gargoyles?" he asks quietly, forcing her back to reality.

"Gargoyles?" she questions, completely confused.

"Not the drain spouts, but the real ones," he continues softly. "The ones that are alive."

"Oh, um, them," she stalls, the gears in her brain spinning quickly to come up with something that might seem like a reasonable answer.

"Their wings, they're a lot like bat wings don't you think?" he continues to question, pointing to a diagram of a bat's wing on the wall.

"I guess so," she reluctantly agrees as she looks at the diagram.

"One of the gargoyles hurt his wing last night," he explains, turning his attention back to the much smaller woman, his blue eyes boring into her brown ones. "I want you to look at him and see if you can help him."

She stares at him for a good minute while what he's just told her sinks into her brain. Shock and confusion are replaced with anger and indignation.

"You mean this whole thing about you donating money to improve the bat exhibit was just a ruse to get me to come make a house call?" she snarls, her eyes narrowing and her volume growing. "You got Weisman's hopes up and mine, just so I could play doctor to your pet gargoyle?"

"He's not my pet," he growls back before he takes a deep breath and regains his calm. "The castle belongs to them and me; we're more like castle mates. I know that gargoyles can usually heal while they sleep, but it looked really bad. And I can assure you Dr. Knight that if you come and help him I will gladly donate the money to give your bats a home so big that they'll think that they're in the wild."

She glares at him for a moment, before she turns and walks towards one of the many windows and looks out at the sun that's slowly heading for the horizon. She can see Weisman hiding in the shade of one of the trees, nervously wiping his brow with his soggy handkerchief and through the landscaping she can see the back of the World of Darkness exhibit. She glances at the clock on the wall before turning back towards Xanatos.

"If I go with you, you swear that you'll donate money for the bats?" she asks, still suspicious.

"Yes," he instantly answers.

"When do we leave?" she inquires, suddenly feeling like she's swallowed several butterflies.

"What time do you get off?" he asks.

"I usually go home around 9 o'clock or so," she answers.

"I think you'd better be there when they wake up," he states. "What time does the park close?"

"5 o'clock I think," she replies. "I don't really keep track."

"Be out in the big parking lot at 7 o'clock, I'll pick you up then," he states just before he turns and heads for the door.

"You mean outside the gates don't you?" she questions in confusion.

"No, inside," he replies, looking back over his shoulder at her.

"But the gates will be locked," she points out.

"I know," he smirks just before he disappears through the door.


	3. First Impressions

She stands alone in the parking lot feeling a bit foolish and a lot nervous. Her stomach feels like she's swallowed a couple dozen butterflies and she tries not to think about what she's agreed to do. She nervously glances at her watch again as the sound of a helicopter reaches her ears.

She ignores it as she switches her black bag from one hand to another, hitches her satchel a little higher on her shoulder and looks over at the gate again. He said to that he'd meet her in the parking lot, not at the gate so here she stands feeling like a complete idiot. She glances at the setting sun and wonders what he's thinking. How in the world is he going to get her from the Bronx all the way to Manhattan before the sun sets? Who knows, maybe he's rich and powerful enough to get a police escort, but even then she doubts they'll get there in time.

The sound of the helicopter gets much louder and the wind picks up until it makes enough force to whip her ponytail around her face and causing the ends of her hair to sting her cheeks. She looks up and sees a bright red helicopter slowly descending into the parking lot. At first she's so stunned at the thought of a helicopter landing in the parking lot that she doesn't notice the name 'XANATOS' painted in large letters on the tail.

As the chopper gets closer, she has to shield her face with her arm to protect it from the flying debris. Several minutes later, the sound of the helicopter's engine starts to die down and the force of the wind kicked up by the blades lessens. It's when she lowers her arm that she sees who the owner of the chopper is, but it's not Xanatos himself that's sitting in the machine. A beautiful red haired woman with a strange tattoo around her right eye sits in the pilot's seat and Gwen can only watch in surprise as the woman leans over and opens the passenger door.

"Dr. Knight?" the woman calls.

"Yes?" Gwen yells back.

"I'm Fox Xanatos," Fox states loudly. "David couldn't make it, so he sent me to come and pick you up. Please get in."

Gwen hesitates at first, but then remembers the woman as the one with Xanatos that she had seen earlier. She swallows down the butterflies that seem to be swiftly multiplying in her stomach and crosses the tarmac. She quickly climbs into a machine that by all rights shouldn't be able to get off of the ground as far as she's concerned, sits down in the seat and closes the door behind her.

"Here, put this on," Fox instructs as she hands a set of headphones with a microphone attached to it to the doctor. "Once I fire up the engines it'll make talking a lot easier."

Gwen does as she's told, seatbelts herself in and then takes a death grip on her black bag and satchel. Fox sees this out of the corner of her eye, but says nothing about it as she starts the engines up. Once the blades are up to speed, she checks for clearance above her and then slowly starts to lift off. Gwen can feel the craft shift as they start to leave the ground and she concentrates on keeping the butterflies _in_ her stomach now.

"I take it you don't like flying," Fox casually mentions as they start to fly over the tops of apartment buildings.

"I don't mind flying as long as it has wings," Gwen replies in a rather strained voice.

"Just for fair warning, this may be the way you're getting home," Fox tells her.

"I'd rather fly with a gargoyle," Gwen replies with all her heart.

Fox laughs, but offers no further conversation for which Gwen is very thankful. Fox brings the helicopter to land on top of the castle after what seems like a life time later. The instant Fox tells her it's safe to get out; Gwen is out and staring at a tall blond man with a very stoic expression on his face that she had seen with the Xanatos family earlier in the day. She's not sure which is stranger about the man, the fact that his left hand seems to be made out of stone from about mid forearm down or the fact that being near him makes the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

"Dr. Knight, I'm Owen Burnett, Mr. Xanatos's assistant," the man says with barely any emotion at all in his voice. "Please follow me. I'll take you to your patient."

Gwen just nods as she takes a quick glance at the setting sun. Owen turns and swiftly leaves, making Gwen nearly run to keep up. By the time they get to gargoyles, she's a bit out of breath and she can feel the back of her shirt sticking to her back. Without a word Owen simply turns and heads back down the stairs.

But she doesn't even notice that as she takes in the scene before her. It's more than obvious which one of the gargoyles was injured since he's the only one not standing. She's a bit confused why there are ropes tied around him, but she figures that it was used to stabilize the wing a bit. She quickly searches through her satchel as she carefully walks around the standing gargoyles and steps up to the one prone on the ground.

She pulls out her Swiss Army knife, drops her bags on the ground near the wall and starts to cut through the ropes. It takes her several minutes, but she finishes cutting through the last rope just as the last ray of light disappears over the horizon. She quickly steps back as the stone skin begins to crack and break.

A feeling she hasn't felt in a long time runs down her spine and for a second she feels like she's returned home. The sensation is short lived as a second after the stone skins fall away she's roughly grabbed and then held over the side of the castle by one arm. She looks down briefly and sees that if she's lucky she'll only fall about twenty feet, but if she's unlucky, she'll plummet to her death on the street below.

Gwen lets out an ear piercing scream and immediately tries holding onto the hand that's holding onto her with her free hand, ignoring the fact that there are talons slowly digging into her wrist. A second later, big, strong arms wrap themselves around her waist and pull her back over the wall. Once she's on the correct side of the wall, she holds perfectly still as she concentrates on getting her heart out of her throat and her body under something that might be considered control.

She's barely aware of several voices yelling as the hand that has hold of her refuses to let go and is trying to pull her out her protector's arms. After some more yanking and yelling, her arm is released and the knife that she had been holding in that hand is pulled out of her nearly numb fingers. Wings that she hadn't been aware were shielding her, open up and reveal a rather strange scene before her.

An angry young female gargoyle with glowing red eyes is being held back by an old male and a portly young male. A much smaller yellow male with the flying membranes stretched between his arms and legs instead of proper wings has hold of her knife and is examining it with intense curiosity. A hound stands between her and another young red male who's sitting on the wall with one of his wings being held at a funny angle. She's set down on very shaky legs and she's finally able to look up at her savior and gets a kink in her neck as she has to crane her neck to look up into a face that's at least two feet above her.

"Hi," she squeaks as she tries to step away from the huge male next to her and nearly collapses as her legs now seem to be made of jelly.

Before she can hit the ground, the large male grabs a hold of her upper arm and steadies her. As she regains her balance, Xanatos comes charging up the stairs with Owen directly behind him. Xanatos takes in the scene and then frowns as he puts his hands on his hips.

"What happened?" Xanatos demands.

"I woke up and found this _woman _standing over Brooklyn with a knife in her hand," the female snarls, trying to lunge at the doctor and failing when the two males refuse to let go.

"You mean this knife?" the little gargoyle smirks as he holds up Gwen's Swiss Army knife.

"Yes, that knife," the female shrieks, fighting against her captors even harder. "She was going to stab Brooklyn with it."

"Lass, that's hardly a knife at all," the elder gargoyle chuckles with a bit of a Scottish accent. "If she wanted to hurt the lad she would have done it while we were sleeping, not wait until we woke up."

"What were you doing with the knife?" asks the big male whose voice is so deep that Gwen can feel it in her diaphragm.

"I was cutting the ropes off of him," Gwen explains, pointing at the red male and rather proud of the fact that her hand and her voice are only shaking a little. "I had just finished when the sun went down. Mr. Xanatos asked me to come up here. He said that one of you had been hurt last night and unless I'm greatly mistaken, he was right."

"I'll be fine," the red one grumbles as he tries to hide his wing.

"Ok, then I'm sure that you won't mind showing me," Gwen replies as she crosses her arms over her chest and glares at the male. "Please show me how well you can fly."

"Who are you?" the big male demands, crossing his own arms over his massive chest.

"My name is Gwen Knight," Gwen states as she turns to face the big male, letting her arms drop to her side. "I'm a DVM."

"DVM?" the portly gargoyle questions obviously confused. "Why does Brooklyn need someone that gives out driver's licenses? Is he going to learn to drive a car?"

"Not DMV, DVM: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine," the little gargoyle explains in an exasperated voice.

"Oh," the portly one replies, nodding his head before a frown creases his forehead. "Huh?"

"It means she's a vet," Brooklyn grumbles as he tries to get his wing to stay up on his shoulder. "Not even a real doctor."

"I beg your pardon?" Gwen nearly yells glaring at him, her fists firmly planted on her hips. "Not only did I go through two years of pre-med, but then I did four years of medical school, and to top it off I also spent three years doing an internship specializing in exotic animals. I have to know not only the anatomical makeup of every single animal under my care, from reptiles to mammals to birds, but I have to know what diseases they are susceptible to and how to treat them for it and I have to know what drugs will help or hurt them. Show me one human doctor that knows one thing about wings. Just one!"

"Sorry," Brooklyn mumbles as he shifts uncomfortably under Gwen's stare.

"Forgiven," Gwen replies, her tone and her face instantly softening. "Now, what's say we go inside so I can get a good look at that wing?"

"What are you going to do to him?" the female snarls, still struggling with the other two.

"I'm just going to examine him," Gwen assures her as she tries to step towards her bags and finds her way blocked by the gargoyle hound who gives a deep throated growl, his eyes glowing white. "Um, can I get to my bags please?"

"Here, I'll get them," the little guy offers as he goes over to the bags and brings them back to Gwen.

"Thank you," Gwen smiles as she takes the bags and then holds out her hand. "May I have my knife back please?"

This instantly brings more snarls and growls from the female as she attempts to get away again. Gwen instantly withdrawals her hand and then holds out the satchel.

"Or you could just put it my bag for me," Gwen quickly suggests.

The small gargoyle closes the knife and then slides it into the bag. While the female isn't struggling as hard as before, she's still glaring daggers at the woman. Gwen quickly retreats back towards the large male and Xanatos, barely noticing that Owen is gone again.

"Now, can we please take this inside?" Gwen requests once again as a breeze reminds her that she didn't bring her jacket to work this morning.

"What's wrong with out here?" the large male rumbles.

"Well, besides the fact that I'm freezing, the lighting isn't so great out here," Gwen points out.

He glares down at her for several seconds before turning to his clan.

"Brooklyn, go with Dr. Knight and let her examine you," he orders.

Brooklyn doesn't look happy with the order, but gets up and heads towards Gwen without a complaint. She frowns as he tries to hide his injury and just ends up dragging the wing on the ground. But instead of reprimanding for not taking better care of the appendage, she turns to Xanatos instead.

"Is there a room we could use for the examination?" she inquires.

"Of course," he replies with a smile. "I had Owen get one of the meeting rooms ready for you. You'll find him at the bottom of the stairs."

"Thank you," she responds and starts down the steps, only pausing long enough to make sure that Brooklyn is following her.

Dejectedly, Brooklyn follows the strange woman down the stairs and through the hallways of the castle. He doesn't keep track of where he's going, not that it really matters since he knows the place inside and out. He barely even notices when he walks past Owen and into the meeting room. Gwen is about to tell him what to do when she's brought up short by more bodies filing into the room.

"I only need to examine Brooklyn, the rest of you don't need to be here," she states, causing Brooklyn to turn around and see the rest of his clan following them in.

"He is our family," Goliath explains. "Where he goes, we go."

"You can stay on one condition," Gwen says.

"And that would be?" Goliath asks.

"You keep that one on a short leash," Gwen states, pointing at the female. "I've got one sore arm as it is. I don't want the rest of my body to match."

Brooklyn looks over at his clan mates and sees several offended looks, especially Angela's, but Gwen just turns her back on them. He watches her in surprise as she drops her satchel onto one of the boardroom chairs and puts her black bag on the table. He looks at her arms and he can see one of them is scratched up enough for some blood to have trickled down her arm, drying there and bruising can already be seen starting to form.

"Brooklyn, please have a seat at the head of the table and stretch your injured wing out on the table," she instructs as she opens her bag and pulls out a pair of examination gloves.

Brooklyn doesn't trust this woman, but Goliath said to let her examine the wing, so the red gargoyle takes a seat and tries to stretch his wing out over the cloth covered table. He feels like a young hatchling again, unable to control his wings and constantly tripping over them. After a brief struggle with the uncooperative appendage, he finally gets it on the table. Gwen steps up to the table near his injury and looks at him.

"May I touch you to examine your wing please?" she requests.

"Yeah, sure," he replies, shocked at the courtesy.

Gwen turns back to the wing and gently lifts it off of the table a few inches. Very carefully she runs her hands over the damaged area. But despite her delicate touch, it still hurts and he hisses in pain. He can hear a brief scuffle and Angela's growl tells him that she's being held back again. Before he has a chance to wonder about her odd behavior, Gwen pokes at something causing him to automatically snarl in protest.

"Sorry," she says as she puts the wing back down on the table. "Would you please stretch your other wing out for me?"

He complies and watches her as she runs her hand along the bones of his good wing, carefully examining the membrane as she goes and checking the range of movement of the joints. After about a minute she steps away from the healthy wing and goes back to the injured one as he folds the other one onto his back. After a few more minutes of poking, prodding and trying to get the joints to bend properly, she sighs and steps away from the table.

Without a word, she goes over to the door, stripping off her gloves as she goes. She opens the door, sticks her head out, talks briefly with someone and then comes back in, shutting the door most of the way. She tosses the gloves into the waste basket as she picks up a phone on the other end of the table.

As she's dialing, the door opens and Elisa comes in. Goliath immediately goes to her, subtly putting himself between her and Angela.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Elisa asks, confused by the scene before her.

"Brooklyn got hurt last night and Xanatos brought in a doctor to look at him," Goliath explains as he gently wraps a wing around her.

"I thought you guys healed while you slept," Elisa states completely perplexed now.

"Normally we do," Goliath replies. "But Brooklyn's wing didn't. I don't know why. We're waiting to see what the doctor has to say."

They turn to see that Gwen has just finished her phone call and is in the process of opening her black bag. A second later Owen comes in carrying a bag of ice wrapped in a towel and another piece of cloth that appears to be wet. He walks over to Gwen and hands the items over as she takes a seat at the table.

"Mr. Xanatos will be in shortly," Owen tells her. "Will there be anything else?"

"No, Owen, thank you," Gwen responds as she takes the wet cloth and starts wipe the dried blood off of her arm.

The others silently watch the assistant leave and then turn back to the woman sitting at the table. She ignores them as she diligently cleans all of the blood off of her arm. As soon as she's satisfied that the blood is taken care of, she starts to pull various items out of her black bag including disinfectant, a tube of ointment, gauze and medical tape.

"What are you going to do to him now?" Angela finally snarls.

"Right now nothing," Gwen replies as she opens the bottle of disinfectant.

"Then what's that stuff for?" Angela demands, pointing at the items on the table.

"They're for me," Gwen replies in a less than pleased tone.

Before any more questions can be asked, Gwen begins to dress her own wounds. She winces a few times, but makes no sound as she cleans up the puncture holes, slathers them in ointment and then wraps her arm in gauze. After replacing the items back in her bag, she puts the bag of ice on her dressed arm.

"What are you planning on doing now?" Goliath asks, tired of the silent treatment from the doctor.

"Well, as soon as Mr. Xanatos gets here, we're going to figure out the best way to get Brooklyn down to a veterinary hospital near the zoo," Gwen starts to explain as she shifts the bag of ice to a different spot on her arm. "When we get there, I'll have them take an x-ray and after that we'll just have to see."

"What's an x-ray?" Goliath inquires.

"It's a picture that shows your bones," Elisa chuckles.

"I've read about the camera they use," the little gargoyle says excitedly, nearly jumping up and down on the table. "It's really big and it's in special room with shielded walls. They lay you on a specially designed table and expose you to x-rays and there's this special film that gets exposed and then they develop it and then they put it up to light and you can see the bones of the person they took the picture of."

"Thank you, Mr. Science," Elisa chuckles.

"He's pretty much got it right though," Gwen points out. "Except we won't lay Brooklyn on the table, just his wing."

"Will it hurt?" Brooklyn asks, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice.

"No," Gwen assures him with a smile. "Though the table's usually pretty cold."

"What happens after you take the x-ray?" Goliath questions.

"Then we see," Gwen answers, shifting her ice again.

"See what?" Goliath growls.

"Then we see if I can operate and repair the damage," Gwen answers staring the big gargoyle in the eye.

"And what happens if you can't repair the damage?" Goliath asks, fearing the answer.

"Then Brooklyn never flies again."


	4. Getting There

There's dead silence in the room when Xanatos walks in. He looks around and sees the shocked looks on all the faces of the gargoyles and Elisa and then turns to see the look of regret on the face of Gwen. He's not sure what's happened, but there's only one way to find out.

"What happened this time?" Xanatos asks with a sigh.

"Dr. Knight says Brooklyn might never fly again," the little gargoyle says in a small, sad voice.

"It's a distinct possibility, but I won't know more until I see the x-ray," Gwen puts in. "I've called the hospital; they'll be ready to go when we get there. The question is how we're going to get there."

"I'll fly you and Brooklyn in the chopper," Xanatos states.

"Fine, the rest of us will follow you," Goliath agrees.

"Hold it right there," Gwen interrupts. "We're going to this hospital for a medical procedure, not a field trip, for one. For two, there's no place to land the helicopter once you get to the hospital."

"I thought you said that the hospital was near the zoo," Xanatos says.

"It is," Gwen replies. "But it's still a couple of miles from door to door. I refuse to make Brooklyn walk it."

"Then we'll take your car after we land at the zoo," Xanatos suggests.

"I don't own a car," Gwen tells him.

"Then we'll glide there," Goliath offers.

"There's no way Brooklyn can glide with that wing," Gwen points out.

"I'll carry Brooklyn," Goliath states. "Hudson can carry you, Broadway can carry…"

"STOP!" Gwen interrupts as she stands up. "Hold it right there. I already stated this isn't a field trip. This hospital is an emergency vet. This means that people are coming in with their sick or injured animals at all hours of the night. They're already stressed out and the last thing they need is to be freaked out by a bunch of gargoyles walking around."

"And here I thought you were different," Brooklyn grumbles, his wing still stretched out over the table. "But you're not. You think we're monsters, too."

"I do _not_ think you're monsters," Gwen nearly shouts back, losing her patience. "But look at it from a pet owner's point of view. You're upset that your beloved pet is so sick or so hurt that it might not survive the night, so much so that you're willing to go through the expense of taking it to an emergency vet. You walk in the door and there's a bunch of beings that are startling to say the least. The pets, their owners and certainly not the staff of the hospital need to go through that. Besides, do you really want people freaking out around you?"

"She's right you know," Elisa adds. "You guys do take a bit of getting used too."

"We're not letting this woman just take Brooklyn and do who knows what to him," Angela snarls.

"Fine, two of you can go," Gwen grinds out as she points at Goliath and the smallest of the gargoyles. "You and you can come, but nobody else."

"Why them?" Angela demands, hands on hips and eyes glowing red.

"Goliath is obviously your leader, so he's a given," Gwen replies, not backing down in the least from the angry female. "And…I'm sorry; I don't know your name."

"Lexington," Lex replies.

"And Lexington because he's small enough not to get in anybody's way," Gwen finishes, shifting her bag of ice to another sore spot.

"Enough," Goliath orders when Angela opens her mouth to protest again. "We don't have all night. Where is this hospital and how do we get there?"

"It's in the Bronx, a couple miles north of the zoo," Gwen answers. "As for how we get there, that's still up in the air."

"I can drive the doctor and Brooklyn," Elisa offers, looking up at Goliath. "You and Lex can follow us."

"As the person bankrolling this little expedition do I get a say in this?" Xanatos asks, slightly amused by the small woman staring down an angry gargoyle.

"My car's big enough for all of us," Elisa shrugs.

"I'll pass, thank you," Xanatos huffs. "Dr. Knight, please give the address for the hospital to Owen. I will meet you there."

With that, Xanatos marches out of the room and more than one being sighs with relief. Gwen drops her bag of ice on the table and then grabs her things.

"If we're going to go, we should go now," Gwen states as she heads for the door.

"Lexington and I will be waiting on the building across the street," Goliath tells Elisa as they part company in the hallway.

Gwen follows Elisa as they head through the corridors of the castle with Brooklyn dejectedly trailing behind them. They're met at the elevator doors by Owen and Gwen gives him the address of the hospital. Once they're in the elevator, Gwen and Elisa finally go through the introduction thing as they ride down.

As they step out into the night air, a cool breeze sweeps past them and Gwen instantly regrets not bringing her jacket with her this morning as a shiver runs down her spine. She's briefly reminded of how cold it can get back home and is thankful for milder and shorter winters of New York.

She follows Elisa down the street and around the corner to a blue and white Ford Fairlane. As they step up to the classic car, Gwen glances up and sees a couple of faces watching them. It's actually a comforting sight and she turns to make sure Brooklyn is comfortably situated before sliding into the front seat of the car next to Elisa.

Mindful of her injured passenger, Elisa takes it easy through traffic, being careful not to jerk the car around if at all possible. Gwen is eternally grateful for Elisa's driving since she's of the opinion that New York drivers are, for the most part, completely insane. It takes them more than half an hour to get to the hospital and as soon as they're parked, Goliath and Lexington land.

"What now?" Goliath asks in his solemn tone as Brooklyn climbs out of the car.

"Now we go inside and get Brooklyn's wing x-rayed," Gwen replies as she heads towards the front doors.

No sooner do the gargoyles step through the doors then instant pandemonium starts. A couple sitting in the waiting area start screaming and yelling as the receptionist bolts out of her seat and charges into the back area. In a second, several people come running up to the front, including an older man with slate gray hair and mustache.

"Hi, Bob!" Gwen greets loudly.

"Gwen!" Bob yells. "Perhaps you should take your friends into exam room one!"

Gwen simply nods and waves the others to follow her as Bob goes to calm the couple in the waiting room. A few moments later they're standing in a small room that's made to seem even smaller by all the bodies in there. After a bit of shuffling around, Brooklyn and Elisa are sitting on the only two chairs available, Goliath is sitting on the floor next to Elisa and Lex is sitting on the floor next Brooklyn. Just as Gwen sets her bags down in the corner Bob walks in.

"Gwen, when you said you were bringing a gargoyle in, I thought you were pulling my leg," Bob chuckles. "I guess the joke's on me."

"I guess so," Gwen replies before turning to the others. "Perhaps I should introduce you to everyone. This is Goliath, Elisa Maza, Brooklyn and Lexington. Everyone, this is Dr. Taylor, he runs this hospital."

"So, who's our patient?" Bob asks.

"Brooklyn is," Gwen answers. "Brooklyn, please come show Dr. Taylor your wing."

Brooklyn begrudgingly stands and walks over to the two vets, dragging the damaged wing as he goes. Bob only has to glance at it to know that they're going to have to get an x-ray.

"I'll have the techs set up the room," Bob tells them. "Someone will come and get you when they're ready."

"Thanks, Bob," Gwen says as he leaves the room.

Brooklyn goes back to his seat and flops down in it. Elisa pats him on the shoulder and he gives her a sad smile. There's an awkward silence for a few minutes until a question is asked.

"If you can fix the wing, what would it involve?" Goliath asks.

"I don't know yet," Gwen replies as she leans against the examination table. "From what I could feel, the bone has already fused back together. So, it may be as simple as cutting the bone, realigning it and then attaching a couple metal plates to hold it in place. However, I was feeling a lot of strange bumps in there and that's what's got me worried. We'll know more soon. But if it is salvageable, it will require surgery."

Silence falls again as humans and gargoyles shift uncomfortably waiting. Fortunately, a young woman sticks her head in a couple minutes later.

"Dr. Knight, we're ready for you," she states.

"Thanks, Karen, we'll be there in a moment," Gwen says. "Come on, Brooklyn. Let's go take a picture."

"Can I come too?" Lex asks, a bit timid.

"If you can keep out of the way of the techs, then I don't see why not," Gwen smiles.

Gwen leads the two gargoyles down the hall and into another room. Karen and another person are already there when they walk in. Lex stops at the door with a look of wonder on his face as Gwen leads Brooklyn over to the table.

"Cool," Lex whispers as he stares at the large machine above the table.

No one hears him as Gwen and the techs get Brooklyn set up. The best way to get the picture they need is to have him lie on his back, perpendicular to the table so that his feet are on the floor and his back is arched over the table. He keeps shifting his feet, trying to find a comfortable position despite the impossibility of it.

"Who's going to hold him in place?" the male tech asks.

"No one," Brooklyn growls causing both of the techs to jump.

"Brooklyn, you need to stop moving around," Gwen instructs patiently. "If you don't we'll have to do this again."

"I could sit with him if you like," Lex offers, coming over to Gwen on all fours.

"Thanks for the offer, but it's not a good idea," Gwen tells him. "We're about to expose his wing to x-ray radiation. And while it will only be a small amount in a concentrated area for a short time, it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Oh," Lex says disappointedly.

"Besides, how are you going to see how they work the machine if you're out here and the controls are in there?" Gwen asks as she points at control booth.

"I get to watch?" Lex asks excitedly.

"Do you two mind?" Gwen questions the techs and they both shake their heads 'no' while looking horrified of the idea. "Good. Now, Brooklyn, when you're told to not move, don't move."

"I know," Brooklyn grumbles as everyone starts towards the booth.

The male tech leaves as Karen, Gwen and Lex cram into the little booth. Even standing on tip toe, Lex can barely see the controls. Gwen crouches down beside him and looks him in the eye.

"You can climb on my back if you like," Gwen offers.

"No, I'm good," Lex replies immediately.

"Suit yourself," Gwen shrugs as she stands back up.

After watching the tech fiddle with the equipment for a few seconds he reaches over and touches Gwen's hand.

"Can I change my mind?" he shyly inquires.

"Sure," she smiles as she kneels back down.

A second later, he's looking over Gwen's shoulder, taking in everything the tech is doing. A few moments later Karen nods to Gwen.

"Ok, Brooklyn, take a deep breath and hold it," Gwen calls out.

They watch as Brooklyn inhales deeply and then stops moving. Karen quickly pushes the button and then there are a couple of clunks as the machine does its thing.

"Ok, Brooklyn, you can move now," Gwen says as she comes out of the booth.

Brooklyn gladly stands back up and then stares at the doctor.

"What are you doing up there?" Brooklyn asks with a scowl on his face.

"Watching the tech work the machine," Lex unashamedly answers as Gwen leans down for him to get off.

"Come on, let's get back to the others," Gwen says as she heads for the door. "It's going to take a few minutes for them to develop the film."

"Can I watch them do that?" Lex questions excitedly.

"I'm afraid there's nothing to watch," Gwen tells him. "It's done inside of a machine."

"Well, can I at least see the machine?" Lex inquires all but jumping up and down like an excited kid.

"Maybe later," Gwen laughs as she opens the door to the exam room.

When they enter, they find that Xanatos has finally arrived and is waiting for them.

"Good, you're here," Xanatos starts. "I've talked to Dr. Taylor already and I've told him to do whatever needs to be done."

"Why are you doing this?" Brooklyn asks as he goes back to his seat and sits back down.

"I was wondering the same thing myself," Goliath adds, staring at the man.

"Your clan has saved the life of my family more times than I care to count," Xanatos replies. "What price can I possible put on that?"

"Fair enough," Goliath replies, visibly relaxing.

"Since I'll only be in the way, I'm going to bed," Xanatos states. "Please call me and let me know what happens, doctor."

"Of course," Gwen agrees as he walks past her. "And Mr. Xanatos, on the off chance any of the gargoyles ever need my help again, please just call me. Leave Weisman out of it."

"Of course," Xanatos smirks over his shoulder as he exits the room.

"Who's Weisman?" Goliath asks.

"My boss and a bigger pain in the patoot you'll be hard pressed to find," Gwen answers.

"What's a patoot?" Goliath quietly questions Elisa.

Elisa leans over and whispers in his ear and he gets a slightly surprised look on his face when he gets the answer.

"So, how was your first x-ray?" Elisa asks after she sits back up.

"The doc's right, that table is cold," Brooklyn grumbles. "I think I scared at least one of the people in the room."

"I'd say you startled them, more than scared them," Gwen tells him. "Just remember they aren't used to their patients being able to talk."

"Then why did the guy leave?" Brooklyn inquires.

"Because he wasn't needed," she replies. "Usually one tech holds the patient in place and the other one runs the machine. Since you didn't need to be held down, he left."

"I bet this place is just filled with all sorts of cool stuff," Lex says, eyeing the examination equipment on the counter.

"They do have a lot of gadgets and gizmos here," Gwen chuckles. "Maybe can I get someone to give you a tour around the place later."

"Really?" Lex asks excitedly. "That would be so cool."

"I'll see what I can do," she laughs as Karen sticks her head in the room.

"Dr. Knight, Dr. Taylor would like to see you," Karen tells the doctor.

"Thanks, Karen," Gwen replies. "I'll be back in a bit, guys."

Gwen follows Karen out, closing the door behind her. Goliath immediately starts glaring at the door and Elisa sighs.

"Uh-oh, I know that look," Elisa states. "What's the matter?"

"Who is this woman?" Goliath asks. "Where does she come from? Why does she accept us so easily?"

"All I know is that she's a vet at the Bronx Zoo," Elisa answers with a shrug.

"Angela nearly killed her and instead of running out of the castle, she stared an angry gargoyle down," Goliath continues as if he didn't hear Elisa. "Humans don't do that. And she seems to have this familiarity to our kind, like she knows us. I don't like it."

"I like her," Lex mumbles.

"You would," Brooklyn snarls grumpily. "It's not like she's been poking and prodding you. And what was with you being on her back?"

"You were on her back?" Goliath demands, horrified at the idea.

"I couldn't see," Lex replies defensively, starting to sulk. "She gave me a boost."

"Guys!" Elisa nearly yells. "Enough already. She's just trying to help. Why all the suspicion?"

"Because there's more too this Dr. Gwendolyn Knight than meets the eye," Goliath growls, narrowing his eyes at door.


	5. Operation

Gwen comes bursting into the room startling Goliath out of his glowering. As Gwen is turning on a light box on the wall and quickly cramming the x-ray into the clip at the top, Bob follows in at a more sedate pace. Bob turns off the light to the room as the light box starts to glow and the others get their first look at Brooklyn's x-ray. They can clearly see the clean white lines of the uninjured bones that lead to what looks to be an explosion of white with little pieces of white floating around it.

"Ok, the bad news is that the bones have fused as I feared," Gwen states.

"So what's the good news," Brooklyn grumbles.

"I think we can fix it," Gwen grins. "We won't know more until we're in there and the surgery will not be easy and you'll be out of commission for at least a couple nights, but I'm confident that you'll fly again."

"Really?" Brooklyn asks; hope starting to color his voice.

"Really," Gwen assures him, her grin getting bigger.

"What are all those little bits of white?" Goliath asks, finally standing up to get a good look at the film.

"That's what's going to be the pain in the patoot of this surgery," Gwen states as she takes a pen from her breast pocket and starts to point to the little fragments of white. "These are bone fragments that are going to have to be removed piece by piece. After we get in there and see how bad it really is, then we'll know how much of the fused bone we're going to have to remove. Depending on how much we have to remove, depends on how much hardware we're going to need."

"You keep saying 'we'," Goliath points out. "Who else is going to be doing this with you?"

"I will be," Bob says from the back of the room. "The OR is being readied now. By the time we get Brooklyn prepped, we'll be good to go."

"You want to do the surgery now?" Brooklyn questions, panic tinting his voice.

"Yes, Brooklyn, now," Gwen answers. "As Goliath said, we don't have all night. This surgery is going to take some time and the sooner we get started the better."

"So let's get started, shall we?" Bob suggests as he waves towards the door and Brooklyn nods with a sigh.

"If I ever get my talons on Demona, I'm going to break her wings so she knows what it's like," Brooklyn grumbles as he heads for the door.

Fortunately for Gwen, the room is dark and no one sees the color drain from her face. A shiver runs down her spine and she quickly shakes herself out of it. She follows Bob and Brooklyn towards the exit, trying to concentrate on the upcoming surgery and not the name she's just heard.

* * *

Goliath, Elisa and Lex stand next to Brooklyn as he lays on a gurney, scared nearly out of his wits. Elisa takes one of his talons into her hand and gives it a squeeze as she smiles down at him. 

"You'll be fine," Elisa assures him as Gwen walks up with a syringe in her hand.

"She's right," Gwen seconds as she cleans a spot on his arm. "I'm going to give you an injection now. In a few minutes things are going to start to get fuzzy and you'll get a bit dizzy, that's why we have you lying down already. Don't fight it, just let take you under. When you wake up, your wing will be repaired. Are you ready?"

"No, but you might as well get it over with," Brooklyn replies, a slight tremble to his voice.

Without another word, she slides the needle into his tough hide and gives him the injection. True to her word, a couple minutes later his world starts to get fuzzy and blurry. He's glad he's lying down because he's sure he'd be about falling down now. He can hear people talking, but it sounds like they're talking from a world away. Despite her what she said, he tries to fight it, but in the end the drug wins and he slips into darkness.

As soon as they're sure he's under, the techs surround the table, pushing the concerned friends out of the way. Goliath watches with barely contained anger as he sees the humans manhandle his clan mate. A low, deep growl escapes his throat when he sees them stuff a tube down Brooklyn's throat causing the techs to shift nervously away from him.

"Perhaps we should go wait in the examination room," Elisa suggests as she pulls on Goliath's arm.

"That's a very good idea," agrees a tall strange man with silver white hair and a mustache that's standing behind the trio. "Hi, I'm Kevin Fitzgerald. I'm a doctor here."

"If you're a doctor then you can tell me why they just put that tube down his throat," Goliath snarls, pointing at Brooklyn.

"The shot he was given was just to knock him out and will only last a short time," Kevin explains as he helps Elisa herd Goliath out of the prep area. "The tube is used to administer a knock out gas throughout the operation so that he doesn't wake up in the middle of it. Once he's in the operating room, I'm sure neither Dr. Taylor nor Dr. Knight will mind you watching, but for now, let's leave the techs to do their jobs."

After they're gone, Lex watches from a corner of the room as his best friend is prepped for surgery. He's torn between being fascinated and horrified at what they're doing. He stays until they wheel Brooklyn away and then he follows them until they take Brooklyn to a set of doors where he's handed off to another group of people. Lex tries to follow until Karen stops him.

"You can't go into the OR unless you're part of the operating team," she tells him and then points to a window in the wall. "You can watch them from there. I could get you a chair so you can see better if you like."

"Yes, please," Lex replies as he goes over to the window.

About a minute later, Karen returns with a chair and Lex gladly climbs up to watch them finish preparing Brooklyn. Just as Gwen and Bob go into the room wearing funny green clothing over their regular clothes, Goliath and Elisa join him. The three of them watch as the two doctors scrub up for the operation.

A short eternity later, Gwen makes the first incision. The three of them watch until the bones are exposed and Elisa turns around.

"I can't watch this," she states as she heads down the hall. "I'm going to store and pick those chewable calcium tables the Dr. Fitzgerald suggested I get."

"We'll be here when you get back," Goliath replies, not taking his eyes off of the gruesome scene in front of him.

"I wouldn't expect you to be anywhere else, Big Guy," she quietly replies with a smile.

* * *

After removing over twenty bone splinters, cutting out the badly fused bones and stabilizing the area with a lot of internal and external hardware, they're done. It's taken them over three hours to complete the whole procedure, but they walk away confident that Brooklyn will fly again. When they walk out of the OR, Goliath and Lex are waiting there for them with Elisa sound asleep in Goliath's arms. 

"Well?" Goliath prompts when the doctor isn't immediately forth coming with the news.

"As long as he doesn't try anything foolish over the next few nights, I believe he'll be good as new," Gwen smiles as she pulls the funny green hair cover off of her head.

"Good," he nods his approval. "How soon before we can take him back to castle?"

"And here comes the hard part," she grimaces. "I don't want him going back to the castle for now. The temptation to fly would be to great way up there."

"Then where do you suggest he stay?" he asks, a dangerous hint to his voice. "Here? Locked in a cage with the other animals?"

"I want him to stay with me," she answers, quickly continuing on before he can protest. "Hear me out! I want him where I can keep an eye on him in case something goes wrong. He'll be safe in my apartment during the day since I live alone. And because I live on the third floor, he's not likely to be tempted to jump out the window."

"How would you be able to keep an eye on him?" he demands, frowning down at the small woman. "You must sleep at night since you work during the day. How could you possibly watch him better than we can?"

"I can't," she replies truthfully. "That's why I would like Lexington to come with us. That way if something does go wrong, he can wake me and I'm right there to take care of it. If he goes home with you and something goes wrong, a lot of problems could arise before I could get there. And please don't ask me to go and stay at the castle. I do have to go to work tomorrow."

"I don't like it," he growls.

"I knew you wouldn't," she sighs. "But please think about it with your head instead of your heart for a little bit. I need to go get cleaned up. I'll be back in a bit."

With that, she turns and walks away, leaving the two gargoyles and the human in the hallway. A moment later, they're carefully wheeling Brooklyn out of the OR with a tech holding his injured wing so that it doesn't get hurt.

"She's right, you know," a soft female voice says causing Goliath to look down at the woman in his arms.

"I thought you were asleep," he states as he starts to follow Brooklyn.

"I was, but you growling at the doctor woke me up," Elisa yawns and stretches.

"You think I should trust this woman with two of my clan during the day?" he questions as he sets her on her feet.

"Why don't you ask Lex?" she counter asks.

"Lex?" he prompts.

"I think she's right, too," Lex quietly replies several seconds later.

"What about during the day?" Goliath inquires.

"Like she said, we'll be locked in her apartment when she's gone and she lives alone, so there's nobody to bother us," Lex reminds him. "Maybe Elisa could come and check up on us if you're that worried about us."

"I wouldn't mind," Elisa adds as they finally step into the recovery area.

They watch as the techs carefully slide Brooklyn off of the gurney and onto several pads on the floor, all the time being mindful of his wing. The room is big, but with his wing stretched out, Brooklyn takes over most of the floor. They remove the last of the items that had been attached to the gargoyle for the surgery and then cover him with a strange blanket that is attached to a blower as Karen sits down on the floor next to his head. Lex crawls up to his friend and sits on the other side of Brooklyn's head from the tech.

"Looks like things are going to be ok," she tells him with a smile. "Dr. Taylor is one of the best surgeons in the country and Dr. Knight specializes in bats, especially their wings. She said that Brooklyn's wing is similar to a bat's only bigger. That made it much easier for her."

"How much longer is his he going to be asleep?" Lex asks.

"He should be coming around soon, but he's going to be pretty groggy for a while," she answers as Brooklyn suddenly gives out a grunt. "See, he's already starting to wake up. He's going to be a bit disoriented as well."

"Not to mention very cranky," Gwen adds as she steps to her patient. "I can take it from here, Karen. Thank you."

"Sure thing," Karen says as she gets to her feet and then leaves.

Gwen takes Karen's spot next to Brooklyn and peels back an eyelid before letting it close on its own again.

"What was that for?" Goliath growls.

"Just checking to see if he's awake enough to start reacting to light," Gwen answers. "He's not quite there yet."

A slightly less strained silence falls as they wait. Goliath takes a good look at the room they're in and sees the walls lined with cages. Some of them have animals in them, but for the most part they're empty. Looking back down, he sees that Gwen's pulled her knees up to her chest with her arms wrapped around her legs and her cheek resting on her knees. It suddenly strikes him how much she looks like a little girl.

"Karen said that you said that his wing is almost like a bat wing only bigger," Lex finally says after several minutes of nothing happening.

"It is," she confirms as she stands up and starts pointing at the outstretched wing. "In fact, it has bones similar to the human arm. You see the joint right here at the back would be like the shoulder to me, here's the upper arm, the elbow and the part that got hurt is like my forearm. Unfortunately, just like the forearm, there are two bones in there and they were both badly smashed. When they healed, they fused into one big lump that we had to cut out."

"So, what's all this stuff you've got on him?" Lex questions, curious about the rods and pins attached to the outside of the wing.

"After we were able to cut away the fused area, we put a couple metal plates in there to guide the bone back together," she answers, touching where the sutures are. "Since we knew it would be impractical to immobilize the joints on either side of the bone, we decided to go with the hardware on the outside to give the bone more stability so when he moves, the bone won't go anywhere."

At that precise moment, Brooklyn lets out a groan and the others stop to look at him for several seconds. When nothing more happens, Gwen goes back to anatomy lesson.

"These claws on his wing are like my fingers," she states as she gently makes it bend around her finger. "The joint below it is like my wrist and the long thin bone that stretches out the membrane is his pinky. He doesn't have a thumb though, which is interesting."

Brooklyn grunts again and this time he twitches causing Gwen to return to her spot next to his head. Goliath glares at her at her brazenness, acting like she's been around gargoyles all of her life. He quickly forgets his displeasure when Brooklyn lets out another groan and moves his head a bit.

"Brooklyn, can you hear me?" Gwen asks.

She peels open an eyelid again causing the gargoyle to growl in response.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," she chuckles as she lets the eyelid go.

Over then next several minutes, Brooklyn slowly wakes up. At first it's just grunts, groans and the occasional growl. The first time he tries to push himself up, he looses his balance and lands on Gwen. He easily out weighs the woman and she's trapped under the groggy gargoyle until Goliath pulls Brooklyn off.

"Are you ok?" Elisa asks, trying to hide her amusement.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Gwen replies as she picks herself off of the floor and brushes herself off. "That's the most excitement I've had from a male in a long time."

Before anyone can react to that line, the speaker over the door crackles to life.

"We've got a Great Dane coming in with possible bloat," the receptionist's voice says. "ETA, ten minutes."

"And that would be our cue to get out of Dodge," Gwen states as controlled chaos breaks loose with techs running everywhere.

Goliath easily lifts a still disoriented Brooklyn up into his arms as tech rushes up and grabs the pads off of the floor. Gwen starts to lead the others towards the front when Kevin intercepts them.

"You're going to want to go out the back," Kevin states as he hands Gwen her bags.

"Why?" Gwen asks as she takes them.

"Someone called the press and there's about a million cameras out there waiting to get a picture of your patient," Kevin replies. "Bob's out there now trying to get them to go away. With that bloat case coming in, we've got to get them out of the way."

Gwen says something that no one but Kevin can understand.

"And you eat with that mouth?" he laughs. "How did you guys get here?"

"I drove," Elisa replies.

"Give me your keys, I'll bring your car around back," Kevin orders, holding his hand out. "If you go out there, they're going to know what's up."

"Be careful with it," Elisa grumbles as she hands the keys over. "It's my baby."

"I'm a doctor, you couldn't find anyone more careful," Kevin assures her. "Which one is it?"

"It's the red and white Fairlane," Elisa replies

"I think I love you, marry me," Kevin says with a straight face and Goliath scowls at the doctor.

"I would, but I know that you'd only be marrying me for my car," Elisa responds before a growl can escape Goliath's throat, trying not to laugh.

"So true, so true," Kevin sighs as he gives them a shit eating grin and then starts to head for the door. "I'll meet you guys out in the alley behind the hospital."

"Try to hurry," Gwen calls as he disappears through the door.

"Why hurry?" Lex asks.

"For one, it's nearly midnight and I'm dead tired," Gwen replies as she leads them to the back exit. "And for two, I didn't bring a jacket and it's cold out there."

A few minutes later, they're standing beside the alley behind the hospital and Gwen is already shivering, but trying not to show it. When Kevin still hasn't shown up ten minutes later, Goliath takes pity on the small woman and wraps one of his wings around her, pulling her close to his body. By the time Kevin shows up nearly half an hour later, Brooklyn is standing unsteadily on his own feet and Gwen is nearly asleep on hers.

"I was beginning to think you had run away and eloped with my car," Elisa jokes as Kevin gets out of the car.

"I wish," he grumbles as he walks up to them. "There were a about four or five news vans blocking the parking lot. Luckily I got the ones blocking the driveway out before that bloat case came in. Where's Gwen?"

"Here," Goliath answers as he pulls back his wing revealing the nearly unconscious woman.

"It's a good thing that surgery isn't what she does for a living," Kevin chuckles. "It happens every time she goes into the OR. She goes through the operation with flying colors, but as soon as the adrenaline wears off, she's out. Take her home, put her to bed."

"Yes, doctor," Elisa smiles as she opens the passenger door.

Brooklyn unsteadily climbs into the back seat and settles in as Gwen is roused enough to give Elisa her address. After patient and doctor are settled in, Elisa closes the door and turns to Goliath.

"So what now, Big Guy?" she asks. "Do I take the good doctor home and just drop her off or do Brooklyn and Lex get to have their first slumber party?"

"Slumber party?" Goliath returns in confusion.

"I'll explain later," she snickers. "Which will it be?"

"The clan leader wants my clan close to me," Goliath explains after about a minute of silence. "But if it's best for Brooklyn to stay close to the doctor, then he and Lex can have their…slumber party."

"Good choice, Big Guy," she nods as she turns towards the car. "Now, let's get sleeping beauty home."


	6. Sleep over

After checking with the GPS installed in her car, Elisa drives a little less than a mile to Gwen's apartment building, handing over the bag of calcium tablets and telling Gwen of Goliath's decision as they go. It's not the nicest neighborhood in the city, but Elisa's seen worse. At this time of night, there's no parking, so she simply double parks in front of the apartment building and then gets out too help the other two.

No sooner does her foot hit the pavement than Goliath and Lex land in the middle of the narrow street. After getting doctor and patient out of the car, they get their first look at the rather shabby building in front of them. Gwen ignores them as she stumbles over to the front door and starts rooting through her satchel for her keys as she leans against the door jam.

"This is where you live?" Lex asks, now taking a good look at the rest of the buildings that don't seem to be in much better shape.

"It's not much, but it's home," Gwen shrugs as she finally finds her keys.

"Listen, guys, I'm going to head home," Elisa tells the gargoyles as Gwen continues hunting for the right key on the ring. "I'll catch you guys later."

Elisa gives Goliath a quick kiss before getting back in her car and driving away. After fumbling around a bit, Gwen finally gets the key in the door and gets it unlocked. She staggers into the foyer and heads for the stairs. The others silently follow her in with Goliath supporting Brooklyn who's still a little wobbly. Just as they start up the stairs, the only door that leads onto the foyer opens up with a bit more force than necessary.

"KNIGHT!" a woman who's probably in her fifties but looks to be about a hundred in a ratty pink bathrobe with slippers to match, her hair up in curlers and a cigarette dangling out of her mouth yells. "I should have known it was you. Coming in at all hours, partying all night. I run a respectable building here!"

"Good morning, Mrs. Welker," Gwen quietly replies without even bothering to turn around. "Good night, Mrs. Welker."

"No pets!" Welker shouts, eyeing the gargoyles and instantly gets growled at.

"They're not pets, they're guests," Gwen calmly explains as she continues her trek up the stairs.

"YOUR RENT'S DUE!" the landlady shrieks up the stairwell at the doctor's retreating back.

"Not for another three days," Gwen states as she reaches the landing.

Gwen turns and walks down a hall lined with four doors, heading for the next set of stairs and the gargoyles slowly trailing behind. Just before she gets to the steps, the last door opens to reveal a handsome young man that misses the six foot mark by a few inches with a well toned body and wearing nothing but tight leather pants. He opens his arms and Gwen gladly walks into them.

"Gwen, honey, you just love tormenting that woman don't you?" he asks in a slightly effeminate tone just before he kisses her cheek.

"It's what I live for," she chuckles as she steps out of the embrace.

"Let me guess, paperwork again," he guesses as he pulls at her satchel strap.

"Not this time," she replies as she points behind her and the man's eyes get very wide.

"G-g-gargoyles?" he finally manages to stutter out.

"Yup," she smirks as she makes her way to the steps.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce me?" he yells at her retreating back after staring at the large moving mountains of muscle for several seconds.

"Maybe tomorrow night," she shouts back over her shoulder.

"You better, sugar, or I'll never cook for you again," he threatens.

"Ok, ok, bring dinner tomorrow night and you can meet them," she chuckles.

"Blackmailer!" he shouts and she laughs.

The gargoyles slowly troop by and the man stays there, watching them. Half way up the next set of steps Lex turns around and sees the man fanning himself with his hand as he goes back into his apartment. Lex quickly catches up with the others, very confused by the man's behavior.

One more flight of stairs and Gwen is finally opening the door to her apartment. They step in behind her into an apartment that's quite possibly smaller than the smallest room in the castle. There's a tiny little kitchen right next to the living area which only has a bookcase, a rather beaten up stuffed chair, a small TV on an overturned plastic milk crate and a small dining table with a couple chairs shoved against the wall. There's a short hallway with two doors leading off of it and despite its Spartan decor, it's neat and clean. However, the apartment is so small that with three extra bodies, especially one that stands around seven feet, it's down right claustrophobic.

"This is where you live?" Goliath asks in surprise.

"Like I said, it's not much, but it's home," she replies as she dumps her bags on the kitchen counter. "I'll go get some blankets for Brooklyn to lie on so he can be more comfortable."

With that she disappears through one of the doors and returns a minute later with her arms loaded with several blankets and a pillow. She drops them on the floor in front of the TV and steps back. Goliath and Lex step up and Goliath slowly lowers Brooklyn down as Lex starts to rearrange the blankets. After a couple minutes, Brooklyn is settled in on the floor and Lex climbs up onto the stuffed chair.

"How are you feeling?" she asks the red gargoyle.

"It hurts," he admits, trying to keep the pain out of his voice and not doing a very good job of it.

"I had a feeling it would," she smiles sadly at him as she opens her black bag and pulls out an already prepared syringe. "This will make the pain go away, but it'll leave you feeling a bit loopy."

"What is it?" Goliath asks sternly.

"Morphine," she replies as she pulls out a little white packet and heads for the prone gargoyle on the floor.

"I've heard of that stuff," Goliath rumbles, simply standing in her way to prevent her from getting to her patient, which, admittedly, isn't hard to do. "People get addicted to it."

"It can become addictive if taken long enough," she agrees as she opens the packet and takes out an alcohol wipe. "However, I don't think he's going to need it past tonight. If you guys heal as fast as people say you do, then most of what's causing him the pain will be gone come tomorrow night."

"Goliath, please," Brooklyn begs, looking up at his leader. "It really hurts."

Begrudgingly, Goliath moves to let Gwen by and she quickly goes to Brooklyn. She gives him the injection and then sits with him until the medicine takes effect. After a few minutes, he noticeably relaxes and he gets a slightly goofy look on his face.

"Feel better now?" she questions.

"Mm-hmm," he hums as he gets a silly smile on his face. "All better."

He gives a little giggle as he snuggles down into his nest of blankets. She slowly stands up, watching as the gargoyle happily hums to himself. She turns to go and finds her way blocked by Goliath again.

"Is he supposed to be acting like that?" Goliath demands.

"Yes, I told you he'd be acting a bit loopy," she answers. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to go take my shower."

"You're just going to leave him like that?" Goliath inquires; horrified by the way Brooklyn is acting.

"There's nothing more I can do," she tells him. "It's up to his body now. Now please, I'm dead tired and I want take my shower and then go to bed. I have to get up to go to work in the morning."

He glares at the small woman in front of him for several moments before relenting and moving out of her way. She squeezes past him, goes back into the kitchen, gets her black bag and heads for the bedroom. When she comes out a minute later, she's carrying some clothes in her hand and heads for the second door.

"I see you don't trust us," Goliath nearly growls.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" she asks, completely confused.

"Your bag, you hid it from us," he replies.

"I didn't hide it, I locked it up," she tells him rather testily. "In case you missed it, this isn't the nicest neighborhood in the city. I learned the hard way that junkies will do pretty much anything to get drugs and needles and stealing a doctor's bag is pretty easy target for them. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take my shower."

With that she steps into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

"Whoa, loud," Brooklyn says just before collapsing in a fit of giggles.

"Maybe you should take it easy on her," Lex suggests from his perch on the chair, in his lap is a scrap book.

"What do you mean?" Goliath nearly snarls.

"Well, ever since we've been awake, she's been under attack," Lex points out. "First Angela tries to drop her off of the side of castle and then you've been verbally attacking her all night. And if you weren't doing that, you've been physically intimidating her. Come on, she fixed Brooklyn's wing and because of her he's going to fly again. Can't you cut her a break?"

"There's something not right about her," Goliath quietly states as he moves closer to Lex, which isn't very far. "It's like she knows us, knows our kind."

"That's because to a certain extent she does," Lex tells him, closing the book and holding it out to Goliath. "Take a look at this."

Goliath carefully takes the offered item and opens it to the first page. On the very first page is an article about Xanatos moving a castle all the way from Scotland to New York, stone by stone and with the article is a picture of Goliath as a statue. The next clipping is a report of the first monster sighting, followed by at least a dozen more just like it, some including out of focus, grainy pictures. The outline of some of these photos is unmistakably Goliath. Towards the end are articles confirming that living gargoyles exist and are now protecting the city.

"It seems you're right," Goliath sighs as he closes the book and hands it back. "I do owe her an apology."

He turns towards the bathroom door and can still hear the shower going. Deciding that barging in on her wouldn't be the best idea, he takes a seat on the floor to wait for her. More than half an hour later, she finally emerges with her skin still pink from the hot water and wearing a long night shirt with her hair wrapped up in a towel.

She vanishes through the bedroom door a second later with her dirty clothes in hand. Moments later she's back out, getting ready to check on Brooklyn one last time only to be brought up short by Goliath sitting between her and the injured gargoyle. Goliath can see she took the bandage on her arm off and the bruising is very prominent, though it almost hides the angry red puncture wounds made by Angela's talons. He also notices that her eyes are red and puffy and it's obvious that condition wasn't caused by exhaustion or the shower.

"If you're planning on staying, could you please move away from the door?" she requests, trying to keep a civil tone. "I have to go to work in the morning and jumping out of a third story window wouldn't be conducive to my continuing good health."

"I won't be staying," Goliath tells her as he stands up. "I only wanted to thank you for taking care of Brooklyn and apologize for my behavior. I would also like to apologize for Angela's lack of good manners as well."

"You're welcome and apology accepted," she replies after she shakes herself out of her shock a few seconds later. "Thank you for keeping me warm earlier."

"You're welcome," he states as he reaches for the door knob. "I hope you don't mind if Elisa comes to check on them tomorrow."

"She needs to get here before nine, that's when I leave for work," she warns. "Unless she's hiding wings under that jacket of hers."

"I'll let her know," he smiles as he opens the door.

"If you continue going up the stairs to the top you'll come to a door that leads to the roof," she tells him. "It says it's alarmed, but it's never gone off in all the years I've lived here and people are always going up on the roof. It's not very high up, but you should be able to catch a good breeze."

"Thank you again, I would like to stop by tomorrow night, if you don't mind," he replies as stands half in and half out of the apartment.

"Of course," she assures him. "I would have been surprised if you weren't coming."

"Good," he nods as he steps out into the hallway. "Good night, Dr. Knight."

"Gwen, please call me Gwen," she urges.

"Good night, Gwen," he says as he starts to head for the stairs down the hall.

"Good night, Goliath," she responds as she shuts the door behind him.

"Glad to see you two are finally getting along," Lex says from where he's curled up on her chair like a big yellow cat.

"Me too," she replies.

"So, what now?" he asks.

"Well, in a minute I'm going to go to bed," she tells him as she checks on Brooklyn who's staring at a test pattern on the TV screen. "If he starts hurting again, come and wake me up. If you watch TV, please keep the sound down. The walls are nearly paper thin around here. I'm not sure if you're interested in reading medical texts, but there are a few library books in the book case if you want something to read. If you get hungry, you can help yourself to whatever you want in the kitchen though I haven't gone shopping this week so there isn't much."

"We were checking out the shows, but I think your cable's out," he states. "The clearest picture we could get is the test pattern."

"That's because I don't have cable," she tells him as she goes into the kitchen and opens her bag. "I'm afraid you'll just have to watch whatever the rabbit ears can pull in."

"How can you live without cable?" he asks.

"How did you live without electricity a thousand years ago?" she counter questions as she pulls a paper bag out of the satchel.

"We just did," he answers.

"Exactly," she replies as she hands the bag over to Lex. "Have him take one of these every half hour or so, please."

"Antacids?" he inquires after he pulls the bottle out.

"Calcium carbonate," she answers. "He's going to need a lot of calcium to replace the bone I had to remove."

"Oh," he responds as he opens the bottle.

As she goes back into the bathroom to comb out her hair and to put fresh bandages on her arm, she can hear Lex trying to convince Brooklyn to eat a Tums tablet. A short time later she's crawling into bed as Lex tries to figure out how he's going to survive a night without cable.


	7. Encounters

As he steps to the edge of the roof, he looks down and sees a digital clock that shows the time and temperature in front of a nearby bank. It's nearly 2 o'clock in the morning and he's ready for sleep now. With a tired sigh, Goliath spreads his wings and leaps off of the top Gwen's apartment building.

He quickly catches an updraft and drifts towards the clouds. The night has been one long emotional strain and right now he would gladly curl up with a good book in front of a roaring fire and stay there until dawn. A cool autumn wind carries him higher as he stretches his wings wider and reflects on the evening's events.

He's suddenly hit from above, sending him and his attacker tumbling through the sky. Claws and fangs sink into his hide and an all too familiar growl fills the air. It takes him several perilous seconds to pry her off and then kick Demona away from him.

He quickly rights himself and snaps his wings back into position, gaining altitude as fast as possible. An angry snarl warns him that she hasn't given up and a slight change in the wind tells him she's trying to get above him again. Her lighter size makes it impossible for him to stay above her and he knows another attack is coming.

He feels the air change again and this time he's ready for her. He flips over and catches her in his talons as she tries to sink her teeth into his neck just below his ear while he flips them both over and controls their decent. The action confuses him for a moment until the smell of the pheromones hits him like a speeding freight train. He freezes for a moment as she struggles to get closer to his neck and he only snaps out of his shock when he feels her hot breath on his neck.

Bringing up his legs as he pushes her further from him, he sinks his back talons into her stomach and kicks downwards. His sharp digits easily slice through her hide, leaving long, deep gashes in her gut. She screams in agony as he shoves her away from him again and he watches with grim satisfaction as she falls through of the air.

Just before she hits a skyscraper, her wings snap open and she glides away holding her stomach as a roar of pain and frustration reaches his ears. Knowing that while a normal gargoyle would die from such wounds if it was too far from daybreak, Demona will survive and will be back to haunt him for at least two more nights. With a sad sigh and an irritated growl, he heads for home, this time being much more diligent in his flight.

* * *

At long last he reaches home and he lands heavier than usual and he lets out a sigh of relief. But the relief is short lived as his own daughter all but attacks him from her perch where she had been waiting for his return. Neither one of them notice Bronx as he quickly runs back inside the castle.

"Well?" she demands as she all but lands on him.

"Brooklyn will fly again," he assures her as he steps back.

"Then where are they?" she growls, advancing on her father.

"He and Lexington are staying with Gwen," he tells her.

"WHAT?" she shrieks, continuing to advance on Goliath. "How could you leave them with that _woman_?"

"Brooklyn can't fly yet and is in a lot of pain," Goliath answers, finally stopping his backwards progress when he hits the wall. "Lexington is watching over him and keeping him company."

"They belong here!" she shouts, poking him in the chest with a talon. "How can that woman possibly take better care of him than us?"

Before he can answer or retaliate, he's rescued by Broadway and Hudson pulling her back. There's a brief struggle before she turns and storms off, snarling all the way. Broadway diligently follows her with a half eaten sandwich in his hand.

"Sorry about that, lad," Hudson says as he watches the couple climb the stairs back up to the top turret. "Broadway was keepin' an eye on things, but his stomach got the better of him. Said he was only gone for a minute when Bronx came in raisin' the alarm that you had returned. So, how is he?"

"She says he'll be fine in a night or two, but for now she wants to watch over him," Goliath distractedly answers, scowling at the retreating backs of the young couple.

"Perhaps it's for the best that those two are staying with the doctor," Hudson says, noticing where Goliath is staring. "It'll be soon, you know. Tomorrow night. The night after that at latest. Though I'm bettin' on tomorrow, m'self."

"Demona set a trap for me last night," Goliath states, still watching the couple as Angela paces back and forth with Broadway trying to calm her with his ignored sandwich loosing pieces as he follows her.

"You're only now figurin' that out, lad?" Hudson chuckles. "Was the cage your first clue, then?"

"She rose tonight," Goliath tells his old friend, finally facing him. "She came after me on the way home."

"That would explain the scratches," Hudson replies as he points to the various wounds all over Goliath's torso. "What are you going to tell Elisa?"

"I don't know," Goliath sighs. "What can I possibly tell her?"

* * *

At a quarter to nine, the buzzer to Gwen's apartment goes off. Still tired from the night before, she finally makes her way to the speaker in the wall next to the door about a minute later.

"Yes?" Gwen asks.

"Hey, it's Elisa," a crackling female voice replies.

"Come on, up. I'm in 3C," Gwen replies just before she presses the lock release button.

Several minutes later, there's a knock on the door and Gwen answers it with a toothbrush in her mouth and toothpaste foam on her lips. The vet waves the detective in before turning and disappearing into the bathroom. Elisa takes a quick look around and easily spots the gargoyles. Lex is sitting on the stuffed chair with a bored look on his face and his chin resting on his fist while Brooklyn is lying on the floor with a goofy look on his face.

"Why does Brooklyn look like he's stoned?" Elisa asks and realizes what she's just said when Gwen lets out a snort. "I meant, why does he look like he's high on something?"

"I gave him a shot of morphine a couple hours before sunrise," Gwen explains as she comes out of the bathroom and heads for the kitchen. "It hadn't worn off by the time the sun came up, so he was still a bit loopy when he went to sleep."

"I understand completely," Elisa says, smiling down at her stone friend. "Morphine can definitely do weird things to your brain. I can understand why people get hooked on it."

"If you don't mind my asking, when did you get morphine?" Gwen inquires as she starts to gather up the papers scattered across the counter.

"I was shot a while back," Elisa answers as she leans against the counter.

"It must be stressful being a cop," Gwen says quietly.

"It's even worse when the cop is shot because she carelessly left her gun lying around and a friend picks it up and starts playing with it," Elisa replies.

"Oh," is all Gwen can say to that.

"But it's alright, we've learned our lessons," Elisa continues. "If I'm not wearing my gun, I keep it locked up and Broadway now knows that guns aren't toys."

"One of the gargoyles shot you?" Gwen questions in disbelief, her eyes wide.

"Yeah, but like I said, we've learned our lessons," Elisa states.

"Which one's Broadway?" Gwen asks as someone knocks on her door. "The older or the younger male."

"The younger one," Elisa replies as Gwen steps past her to the door.

"Who is it?" Gwen calls through the door.

"It's me, Dave," a husky male voice answers. "I've got the stuff."

Elisa's eyebrows shoot straight up to her hairline as Gwen's face and neck turn beet red. Gwen says a few words in a language Elisa doesn't know as she takes hold of the doorknob. She then rips the door open, grabs the front of the shirt of the man standing in the hallway and drags him into the apartment. He lets out a startled shriek as she slams the door shut before releasing his silk shirt.

"Watch the couture, sugar, this shirt cost a very pretty penny," the man admonishes as he brushes at the front of his shirt, trying to remove any wrinkles, the husky voice long gone.

"Lars, what are you doing up here?" Gwen demands, her hands on her hips.

"I just came up to see what you wanted for dinner," Lars replies as he continues to fuss with his top. "But if this is the way you're going to be about it…"

"Lars, I'd like you to meet Elisa Maza," Gwen interrupts, waving a hand towards Elisa and causing Lars to look up from his shirt at the other woman in the apartment. "She's a detective with the NYPD."

Lars eyes get to be about the size of dinner plates as his face turns almost as red as Gwen's did and he lets out this high pitched squeak that quite possible only dogs can hear. It takes all of Elisa's will power to keep a straight face as the man puts a hand over his mouth and looks like he's about to have a heart attack.

"Breathe, Lars," Gwen growls as she goes back into the kitchen. "I don't need you fainting and landing on my patient."

"Ohmygod," Lars babbles as soon as he draws a breath. "Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod."

"Slow down, Lars, or you're going to hyperventilate," she warns as she starts stuffing her papers and lunch into her satchel.

"Oh my god, you must think that…," Lars says in a higher than normal voice to Elisa as he touches her arm. "Gwen isn't a…and I'm not a…"

"I kind of figured that part out," Elisa chuckles, no longer able to control herself.

"Oh my god, I'm so embarrassed," he continues to rant.

He turns to start pacing and nearly steps on Brooklyn. He lets out another startled squeak when he sees the stone being on the floor.

"Talk about getting stoned," he states as he takes in the sight before him.

"At least they can't ever complain about not getting a good day's sleep," Gwen states as she disappears into her bedroom.

"That's true," Elisa agrees.

"Are they aware of what's going on around them?" Lars asks as he squats down next to Brooklyn and takes a closer look at him.

"Not that I know of," Elisa answers. "But I do know that they dream."

"As fascinating as gargoyle sleep is, I'm late for work," Gwen states as she comes out of the bedroom with her black bag in hand.

Lars quickly lets himself out as Gwen grabs her satchel, swings it over her shoulder and then picks up her full travel mug. Elisa follows Lars into the corridor and Gwen is right behind her. Gwen quickly locks up and then heads for the stairs at a brisk walk.

"So, what do want for dinner?" Lars asks as he trots along behind her.

"I don't know," Gwen replies irritably. "Elisa, what do the gargoyles like to eat?"

"They don't usually eat all that much," Elisa answers as she easily keeps up with the shorter woman. "When they do eat it's usually things like pizza, hamburgers and hot dogs."

Lars stops dead in his tracks as he gives an inhaled shriek of horror.

"I do NOT do hot dogs!" he emphatically states, stomping his foot.

"Make what you want," Gwen calls back as all but flies down the stairs. "I'll see you tonight."

"You better not be late again!" he yells back.

"I won't!" she shouts back as she starts down another flight of steps.

A few moments later she's out the front door, thankful the Mrs. Welker wasn't awake yet. Blinking into the late September sunlight, she starts rooting through her satchel for her sunglasses as she continues her head long flight down the street.

"You want a ride?" Elisa asks, bring Gwen up short.

"Huh?" Gwen smartly replies as she turns around a looks at the detective.

"Would you like a ride to work?" Elisa clarifies, waving at her car sitting at the side of the road.

"Oh, sure," Gwen agrees as she steps closer to the car. "If it's not any trouble."

"Hey, no trouble at all for a pretty lady," a tall, thin man with short red hair states as he steps out of the car.

"Gwen, this is my partner Matt Bluestone," Elisa says as he pulls the back of the front bench forward. "Matt, this is Gwen Knight. She's the one that put Brooklyn's wing back together."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, my dear lady," Matt says as he takes Gwen's hand in his own and kisses the back of it.

"Pleasure's all mine," she barely whispers as she feels herself becoming light headed.

"Ok, you snake charmer, get back in the car," Elisa tells her partner as she heads around to the drivers side.

Matt slides into the back seat, leaving the front for Gwen. When Gwen protests, he refuses to relent and she shyly slides onto the seat next to Elisa. Elisa gives her partner a warning look and then pulls away from the curb.

"So, you're a vet at the Bronx Zoo, that must be pretty exciting," Matt states from his spot just behind Gwen.

"It has its moments," Gwen replies as she tries to twist her neck around to see him. "But usually it's just basic stuff, nothing exciting."

"Sounds like our job, hey partner?" Matt chuckles. "Lots of boring stuff with occasional bits of excitement."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Elisa laughs as she slows for a red light.

"Not at all," Matt replies as he turns his attention back to Gwen. "So, Dr. Knight, where are you from?"

"Switzerland," Gwen responds as puts a hand to brace herself for the inevitable slammed on brakes.

"Switzerland?" Matt and Elisa ask in unison as Elisa slams on the brakes.

"No way," Matt exclaims.

"Is English one of the spoken languages in Switzerland?" Elisa asks.

"No, it's not," Gwen replies as a honk from the car behind them indicates that the light has turned green. "However, my ancestors were refugees from the British Isles, so I grew up speaking English as well as French and German."

"So, when you found out about the reporters last night and when Lars showed up at your door this morning…," Elisa prompts as she drives on.

"My French was German," Gwen confirms.

"A woman with beauty and brains, be still my beating heart," Matt sighs.

"Turn here," Gwen quickly instructs as she can feel her face heating up again. "The employee entrance is down here."

"So, how did you end up in the United States?" Elisa asks as she pulls into the employee parking lot.

"That's a really, _really_ long story," Gwen quietly laughs, trying to hide her nervousness.

"I'd love to hear it some time," Elisa tells her.

"Me, too," Matt pipes up from the back seat.

"I'm afraid it's going to have to wait," Gwen tells them as Elisa pulls up next to the employee's entrance. "Here's my stop. Thanks so much for the ride."

"Hey, it's the least I could do," Elisa replies. "I'll see you later."

"Ok, bye," Gwen responds as she gets out of the car.

Matt follows her out of the car and grabs her hand, causing her to turn around.

"Fare thee well, my lady," Matt says with a bow and another kiss on the back of her hand. "Until we meet again."

With that, he gets back into the car with a flourish and Elisa drives off just shaking her head. Gwen stands there for nearly a minute staring after they are long out of sight, waiting for her heart to stop pounding and a little less blood coloring her cheeks. When she finally walks towards the gate, the security guard is watching her with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't ask," she nearly growls.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he replies with a huge grin on his face as she walks past him into the park.

* * *

**Author's notes:** Well, even though my 4 year old decided to wipe out pretty much the entire apartment scene, I've rewritten it. Hopefully you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please leave a review. 


	8. Long Day

"Is there any particular reason _why_ you're banging your head on your desk?" John asks, leaning against the door frame to Gwen's office. "Or do you like self induced headaches?"

"I was just in a car with a man that was flirting with me and I just sat there like a big, dumb lump," Gwen groans, either from the memory or the pain in her forehead, she's not sure which at this point. "He kissed the back of my hand. Twice!"

"Was he good looking?" he asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Drool worthy," she moans finally looking up at her coworker, a big red mark in the middle of her forehead. "He said I was pretty and beautiful and smart and I didn't even thank him."

She lets her head fall back down onto the desk with a 'thunk' which is followed by a muffled 'ow.' John chuckles as he steps fully into the office, picks up Gwen's satchel and digs around in it until he finds the bottle of pain pills. He shakes a couple out into his hand, returns the bottle to the bag and then puts the pills in her hand. She sits up and takes them without a word and then goes to drop her head back down only to have it caught in John's hand. He leans over and she stiffens when she can feel his warm breath on the side of her neck.

"He's right," John whispers in her ear. "You are pretty and beautiful and smart."

With that, he walks out of her office and she sits there more stationary than a sleeping gargoyle.

* * *

"Ok, Casanova, care to explain yourself?" Elisa nearly demands, watching her partner out of the corner of her eye.

"She's cute," Matt smirks as he leans back into his seat. "Especially when she blushes."

Elisa just sighs as she shakes her head and heads the car back towards uptown.

* * *

Several hours later, this morning's embarrassment with Matt and gut knotting experience with John have been forgotten as Gwen immerses herself in her work once more. She's in the middle of examining the wing of a golden eagle when one of the other doctor's comes in. He watches her for a while and she figures that the senior physician is just watching her work. After carefully extracting the tick that has attached itself to the bird, she sends the handler off with the bird firmly in hand.

"Hey, Tony," Gwen greets as she goes to dispose of the parasite. "How's it going?"

"It's good," Tony replies as he continues to watch the younger woman. "So, who's your new boyfriend?"

"What new boyfriend?" Gwen asks, completely confused.

"The one that gave you a big old wet one when he dropped you off at work this morning," Tony answers, trying not to laugh at the look on Gwen's face.

"The rumor mill has been working overtime today," Gwen grumbles as she tosses out her used gloves. "He's not my boyfriend, I only met him this morning and he only kissed the back of my hand."

"Oh, really?" Tony questions, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "Been to your office lately?"

"No, I haven't had a chance to eat my lunch yet," she replies as she heads for the door.

"Then I suggest you go eat it," Tony snickers as he follows her out into the afternoon sunlight.

She gives him a questioning look, but knows he's not about to tell her anything. So with an exasperated sigh, she heads towards her office. She glances over at the older gentleman a couple times, but he says nothing as they make their way across the park.

The instant she steps into the building, she's met with cheers, cat calls and whistles from her coworkers. Feeling her cheeks starting to warm, she quickly heads for her office and then stops dead in her tracks at the door.

Sitting on her desk in a huge vase is the biggest bouquet of flowers she's ever seen in her life. She cautiously approaches it, carefully reaches out a hand and snags the card that's partially hidden by the blooms acting like the greenery is going to attack her. With great trepidation, she opens the card and reads it, letting out a sigh of relief when she's done.

"It's a thank you from…a friend," she explains as she slides the card from Xanatos into her pocket.

"Must be some friend," he smirks.

"I helped him out when he really needed it," she shrugs, turning to leave.

"Then what about those?" he asks, pointing off to the side of her office. "Those from friends too?"

Gwen spins around and looks to where he's pointing and nearly has a heart attack. Off to the side, on top of her tall filing cabinets are two more bouquets of roses. One is a dozen red roses and the other is a dozen white.

After she finally convinces her body not to faint, she slowly approaches the flowers as if she's afraid they'll jump off the cabinets and bite her. When she's sure they're not going to move, she quickly searches both bouquets and finds that neither one has a card attached to it. She then stands there scowling at the flowers, trying to figure out who would send her two dozen roses.

"There are no cards," she states, confused and a little miffed. "How am I supposed to thank the person for the flowers if there's no card?"

"Yes there are," Tony tells her as he goes over to the flowers and plucks a card out of the middle of the bunch, chuckling as he goes. "You're just too short to see them."

"I'm glad that my vertically challenged status gives you such amusement," she growls as she snags the card out of his hand.

He fetches the second card as she reads the first and turns a lovely shade of pink. He hands over the second card and watches as she turns bright red. She looks like she's about to fall down so he guides her over to her desk chair where she promptly collapses into it.

"I've been invited out to dinner," she says in a stunned voice after about a minute of silence. "Twice."

Tony takes the cards from Gwen's nerveless fingers and reads them. Another one of the doctor's sticks her head in the door at that moment. All she can really see is Tony since Gwen is hidden behind the giant bouquet on her desk

"So, who are they from?" Lily asks excitedly.

"Doesn't say," Tony answers with a chuckle. "But she's been invited to two of the fanciest restraints in Manhattan. Good thing they're on different nights, I'd hate for you to have to pick between the two. You're going to have a very busy weekend, my dear."

"You go, girl!" Lily cheers.

"I haven't been on a date since college," Gwen states in near panic. "What am I going to do? I don't know what to wear or what to say or do or anything."

"So, just do what you did back in college," Lily suggests.

"What happened back in college is the reason I don't date now," Gwen suddenly growls as she stands up, snatches back the cards from Tony and then storms out of her office.

"Well, that went over like a lead balloon," Lily muses as the outside door to the offices slams shut.

"I don't know what happened back in college," Tony states watching Gwen stomp off towards the clinic through the window. "But whatever it was, she was hurt pretty bad."

* * *

The rest of the day Gwen spends avoiding her office which isn't too hard to do since she doesn't normally spend a lot of time in there. But instead of doing paperwork in her office while eating her lunch like she normally does, she eats it out in the park like a normal human being. It's a nice change of pace, but she knows that it just means she'll be bringing paperwork home tonight like usual.

But as evening approaches, she knows she can't avoid the room any longer. With a groan, she returns to her office, quickly gathers up her things and the paperwork she's been avoiding and exits as fast as possible. With a sigh of relief, she closes her office door behind her and heads for home.

As she starts her nearly two mile walk home, her mind wanders about the flowers and cards that she received. The ones from Xanatos she can understand and has no problem with, though having it in the middle of her desk isn't the best place for it. In fact, if anything she's touched that he would do such a thing, but it's the others that has her worried.

Lily had found her during lunch and told her what the colors of the roses meant. The white roses are confusing because they are for eternal love; innocence; heavenly; secrecy and silence. The red roses are simple and straight forward: I love you. Those are the ones that really have her worried.

She thinks back to her second year in medical school when someone else had said those words to her. She remembers how he had wined her and dined her and put her on a pedestal like she was the only woman in the world. But in the long run, he was just looking for a body to warm his bed, not a lasting relationship. She nearly flunked out of school that year and from that point on, she has pulled away from any man that had ever shown an interest in her.

Now she has two men interested in her and it has her totally confused. On the one hand, it would be nice to have a relationship with someone that's a bit more than just friends. On the other hand she's afraid to fall in love. Falling in love means marriage and marriage means never going home again.

Home. Someplace she hasn't seen since she was sixteen years old. She thinks about her family and friends that she left behind and instantly falls into a blue funk. It'll be years before she can see them again and any distraction from a man or men will only delay her.

"You know, walking through these neighborhoods and not paying attention to what you're doing isn't a very smart or safe thing to do," a deep voice says from directly behind her.

She lets out an ear piercing shriek and jumps at least a foot in the air. By the time she spins around and faces her stalker, Matt is leaning against the side of the building and laughing so hard that he's holding his sides. She gives him the dirtiest look she can muster and he just laughs harder.

"I'm glad I could amuse you," she snarls before she spins around and stomps off.

"Not to interrupt a good huff," he snickers. "But isn't this your building?"

She looks back at him, still pretty peeved and sees that he's right. She's walked right past the front door of her apartment building. Narrowing her eyes at him, she marches up to the door, finds her keys and then lets herself in. Before she has a chance to slam the door in his face, he's through it and standing in the foyer with her.

"I don't recall inviting you inside," she snaps.

"You didn't," he smiles so brightly that she's sure it can glow in the dark. "Would you mind if I went up and said 'hi' the guys? Great! Thanks."

With that he grabs her keys and starts up the stairs. All she can do is stand there in shock at his audacity. It's not until she can hear him starting up the second set of stairs that she's snapped out of it.

She tears up the steps after him, wanting to do something physical to him. But being fairly sure assaulting a police officer wouldn't be too smart, all she can do is fume. Thankful that for the past three years she's been going up these stairs on a daily basis, she gets to the top of the first flight without any problem. Just as she's reaching the end of the first hallway, Lars opens his door and sees her flying by.

"Where's the fire, sugar?" he asks.

"He's got my keys," she snarls causing Lars to come chasing after her.

"Should I call the police?" he yells.

"He is the police," she shouts back as they get to the top of the stairs.

Matt is already on the last set of steps when they start down the hall on the second floor. By the time they catch up with him, he's standing in front of Gwen's apartment door trying to figure out which key to use. Gwen goes to snatch them from his hands, but he just holds them up out of her reach.

"Hold on," Matt tells her, a smile playing on his lips. "I've almost got it."

"Give me my keys back," she demands just as he finds the right key and sticks it in the door.

Suddenly the door swings open without him turning the key in the lock, much less the knob. Her heart nearly stops in her chest as Matt waves her and Lars away from the door while he pulls out his gun, his smile long gone. Gwen and Lars quickly move away and flatten themselves against the wall as Matt cautiously opens the door just as the last rays of the sun disappear from the sky.

The sound of cracking stone is quickly followed by the sound of roaring as the gargoyles awake. A second later a woman's scream fills the air and Matt is knocked back by someone escaping the apartment. Lars sticks his foot out and Mrs. Welker lands flat on her face.

"FREEZE! POLICE!" Matt shouts as he aims his revolver at the body on the floor while the sound of people bolting their doors shut can be heard throughout the corridor.

"I'd ask what you were doing in my apartment, Mrs. Welker, but I already know," Gwen snarls at the prone woman. "One last time, there's no money, no jewelry and no drugs in my apartment. So stay OUT!"

With that, Gwen brushes past the two gargoyles standing in the doorway of her apartment and disappears into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Welker looks over her shoulder at Lex and Brooklyn, ignoring the gun pointed at her.

"NO PETS!" Welker shouts at Gwen's retreating back.

"We aren't pets," Brooklyn growls, his eyes glowing white just like Lex's.

Welker shrieks and scrambles to her feet as she runs down the hall. Matt raises his gun and takes a breath to yell again only to be stopped by Lars putting his hand on top of the detective's as he shakes his head.

"She's our landlady," Lars tells him. "It's in our lease agreement that she's allowed to search our apartments."

"Why in the world would you agree to that?" Matt asks.

"Cheaper rent," Lars shrugs. "At first I thought she was just checking to make sure there weren't any drug dealers in the building. Now I know that she's looking for drugs for herself. And if she can take something of value and sell it off, all the better as far as she's concerned."

"Why don't you turn her in?" Matt asks as he puts his gun away.

"To what end?" Lars questions back as he heads into Gwen's apartment. "We'd probably get someone worse than her. Or worse yet, we'd all be evicted. No one wants that."

Lars walks past the gargoyles without a second glance and goes to the bedroom door, knocking on it quietly.

"Gwen, honey, are you ok?" Lars calls softly through the door.

A muffled 'no' can be heard and Lars sighs.

"I'm coming in, so you better have all your girly bits covered," Lars warns about two seconds before he puts actions to words.

He comes in and finds Gwen sitting on the edge of her small bed. Her satchel is next to her on the bed and he knows her black bag has already been locked away. Her face is in her hands and she's trembling.

Lars sits next to her and puts an arm around her shoulders. She sighs and leans her head on his shoulder as she lets the comfort of a friend and tears ease her tension. A minute later Lars is handing her a tissue from the box sitting on the nightstand.

"I told you I wouldn't be late for dinner," she sniffs as she wipes her nose.

"Dinner!" Lars shrieks. "Oh my god! I totally forgot!"

With that, Lars is out the door like a shot. She chuckles quietly as she watches her friend fly out her front door. Shakily she stands and goes to check on her patient only to find Matt leaning against the kitchen counter talking to the gargoyles. She feels a slight twinge of jealousy when she sees the ease with which they know one another.

"You ok?" Matt asks in concern, handing her her keys.

"I'll survive," she replies with a shrug as she takes them. "It's been a long day."

"Your friend said that she does this a lot," Matt confirms.

"It depends on your definition of a lot," she states with a sigh. "She doesn't go through my apartment that often, only when she's desperate. She knows she's not going to find money or anything valuable in here, so she's probably looking for drugs."

"Like the stuff you were giving me last night?" Brooklyn asks from his spot on the floor.

"If she had known I had morphine with me last night, she would have gone nuts trying to get it," she confirms.

"Do you have any more?" Matt questions worriedly.

"No, I only got two syringes worth from Dr. Taylor last night figuring that was all Brooklyn needed," she answers. "I know better than to keep anything other than basic first aid supplies in my bag now."

"When I woke up, she had her arms around me," Lex says, looking uncomfortable.

"What I wouldn't have given to see her face when you woke up," she chuckles before turning serious again. "I hate to say this, but she was probably going to try and sell you. She's got a fence that takes care of anything she can lift."

"What has having a fence got to do with selling me?" Lex asks naively. "Aren't fences supposed to keep things in or out?"

"That's the thing; a fence is also someone who deals in stolen goods," Matt clarifies for him.

"Oh," Lex whispers.

Before anything else can be discussed about fences or drug addicted landladies, someone bangs on the door. It sounds like someone is kicking it with the tip of their foot and it makes Gwen jump. After she finally gets her heart out of her throat she answers.

"Who is it?" she calls.

"It's Mary Poppins," Lars yells back through the closed portal. "Who the hell do you think it is? Now open the door. This thing is hot."

Gwen opens the door and stands back as Lars dashes past her with a large pan and the smell of garlic, tomatoes and cheese fills the apartment. She sniffs appreciatively while Lars puts the lasagna on the counter and then goes past her at near sound barrier breaking speed. She shuts the door behind Lars, but doesn't close it all the way since she knows he'll be back in a minute.

"If he doesn't slow down, I'm going to have to give him a speeding ticket," Matt jokes and Gwen just smiles at him.

She goes into the kitchen and begins to pull out the needed dinnerware for their meal. After emptying out her cabinets and drawers, Lars returns with more food. He takes one look at her plates and flatware and looks absolutely horrified.

"You are most certainly not serving my wonderful dinner on that," Lars states, waving his hand at her less than perfect plates and glasses.

"But it's all I've got," she points out.

"Well, it just won't do," Lars insists, getting a bit huffy. "Besides, you only have four and we need five place settings. Or are you planning on eating straight out of the pan? I'll be back in just a tic, love, don't do anything foolish."

With that, Lars is gone in a heartbeat back out the door and Gwen sighs.

"He's going to make some man a lovely wife someday," she mutters to herself before talking a bit louder. "I better go check to make sure he doesn't bring up the entire kitchen."

She follows her neighbor out the door leaving the other three alone.

"Pretty trusting," Brooklyn observes, trying to get comfortable with the rig on his wing getting in the way.

"What are we going to do?" Matt asks as he waves his hand around the room. "Steal her medical books? Run off with a TV that's probably as old as she is? She's right that she really doesn't have anything of enough value for anyone to take."

"I thought doctor's were supposed to be rich," Lex states as he looks around the apartment. "But it looks like she's barely able to pay her rent. That Welker woman keeps saying her rent is due."

"Welker's probably saying that because she needs the money to buy her drugs," Matt replies as he goes into the kitchen and starts putting away the dishes that won't be needed. "She's probably doing that to all of her tenants in hopes of getting them to pay early."

They hear the door being opened and all turn to see Gwen coming in loaded down with half a dozen dinner plates with matching salad plates, cloth napkins and what looks to be silverware piled on top of that. As soon as she carefully puts the plates down, she starts pulling wide silver rings out of her pockets. Matt moves closer to observe her actions and she can feel her heartbeat go into double time.

"Is that china?" Matt asks, looking down at the plates.

"Lenox, to be exact," Gwen tells him as she starts to roll the napkins up and thread them through the rings. "The silver is from Oneida. At least I talked him out of the Waterford."

"What does he do for a living?" Matt demands.

"Well, during the day he designs websites and at night he's a cat," she answers.

"Ok, I understand the website thing, but a cat?" Matt questions.

"To be specific, he's a leopard," she replies, refusing to look up at him.

"And the cutest darn leopard you have ever seen, I will have you know," Lars adds as he comes in carrying a tray of wine glasses and water goblets.

"He's in the Lion King," she explains before any more questions can be asked.

"Then shouldn't you be at the theater right now?" Matt inquires.

"I would be but I got hurt the other night," Lars grumbles as he sets the tray down. "I was given a week off. Stupid elephant, not watching where he's going."

"Got to watch them elephants," Matt agrees, trying not to chuckle as he sorts the cutlery out.

"Darn straight you do," Lars heartily agrees and Gwen has to bite her lips to keep from laughing.

"By the way, Lars, this is Matt Bluestone," Gwen finally introduces. "Matt, this is Lars Davidson."

"So, how did you two meet?" Lars asks as if Gwen bringing a man home happens every day.

"He's Elisa partner," she explains.

"Ah, that explains the big gun," Lars smirks and she can feel her face start to heat up again.

Before either one of the males can embarrass her any further, someone bangs heavily on the door with such force that the walls shake, causing them all to jump.


	9. Shock

Elisa hurries through the castle knowing that it's near sunset and she doesn't want to miss it. Watching the gargoyles wake always gives her a thrill, especially seeing Goliath in all of his primal glory. The thought of him sends a shiver down her spine right down to that special place between her legs, but she can think of that later, now it's time to hurry.

She steps through the final door just as the last rays of the sun disappear over the horizon. She stares up at the gargoyle she loves as cracks appear in his stone skin. He suddenly busts out of his shell with a roar and a certain spot below her belt heats up.

"Hi, guys," she calls out.

Instead of the usual greeting she gets, she's answered with a shriek of anger. She looks towards the sound is shocked to see a thoroughly ticked off Angela bearing down on her with red eyes glowing and talons reaching out to grab. Startled by the sudden attack from a friend, she stands there immobile.

Elisa barely manages to dodge out of the way and Angela goes careening past her. The gargoyle leaves gouges in the stone as she scrambles to correct her course. As she gets herself situated to take another pass at Elisa, Broadway tackles her to the ground. They roll around on the ground growling, teeth and talons biting and slashing. Before Elisa can gather her wits to ask what's going on, Goliath grabs her. She doesn't even get a squeak out before they're over the castle wall and headed south towards the Bronx.

"Wrap your arms around my neck and your legs around my middle," Goliath instructs as he catches an updraft.

"You care to explain what's going on?" Elisa demands as she does as instructed, her heart pounding and adrenaline pumping through her veins. "Why did Angela attack me? And why do I have to hold on to you like this?"

"Angela has risen," he answers in a mater of fact tone. "It's best if you're far away from her right now."

"Risen to what?" she asks testily, trying to get comfortable in this strange position. "And why do I need to be far away?"

"She's risen to mate," he explains as he holds her close and keeps an eye on the clouds above them.

"And I'm guessing that other females aren't welcome at that little party," she says as she starts to relax a bit.

"That's right," he confirms, continuing to watch the sky.

"There's more to it, though, isn't there?" she inquires, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Females rise to mate for three nights," he tells her.

"Aaaaand…," she prompts.

"Demona rose to mate last night," he grudgingly replies.

"Which means…?" she urges.

"That she's looking for a mate and she'll stop at nothing to get one," he answers.

"So the reason I'm holding on to you like this is in case she comes looking for love," she states.

"She attacked me last night," he responds as he adjusts his course slightly. "I believe that she had intended to trap me the night before last but instead she got Brooklyn."

"Is that how he got his wing broken?" she asks.

"Yes," he replies as he suddenly closes his wings and they drop like the proverbial rock.

Before she can even draw a breath, a red haired gargoyle goes streaking by them letting out an ear piercing scream of frustration. Goliath quickly reopens his wings and tries to gain altitude but can't find a strong enough updraft to serve his purpose. Seconds later, Demona is upon them again.

This time her attack comes from below and Elisa looks over her shoulder to see Demona reaching for the human. Before Demona can grab Elisa, Goliath flips over, protecting her with his body. Taking advantage of his defenseless side, she grabs a hold of him, digging her talons into his flesh as she tries to bite his neck. Instead of finding the body part she wants, she ends up with a mouth full of leather as she sinks her teeth into Elisa's left arm.

Elisa screams as Demona gleefully causes the detective pain as her sharp canines cut through the sleeve of Elisa's jacket. Goliath lets go of Elisa with one hand and punches Demona in the face as best he can. While the blow isn't hard enough to dislodge Demona, there is the satisfying crunch as Demona's nose gets broken.

Demona releases Elisa's arm as she cries out in pain and grabs her face with her hands. Goliath takes advantage of this and shakes his former mate off of his back. A second later the updraft he had been hoping to find makes its appearance and they're soon soaring towards the clouds again.

"Hold me, but loosely," Elisa instructs, her body and voice shaking with pain.

Goliath does as he's instructed and Elisa reaches inside her jacket for her gun with her good arm. Once she's secured the weapon, she puts her arm back around his neck. As she's doing this, he's watching Demona as she shakes off the effect of his punch and starts following them.

"Let her get above us," Elisa tells him quietly.

"That won't be a problem," he replies as Demona catches the same updraft and soars above them in a matter of seconds. "Why?"

"Clearer shot," she growls back.

"It won't stop her," he reminds her.

"No, but it will slow her down enough for us to find shelter," she replies.

A moment later Demona is diving out of the sky at them and Elisa takes aim. There's a loud crack as the gun discharges and Demona's scream can be heard a second later. They watch in fascinated horror as she falls from the sky and lands on top of a building with a sickening crunch.

"I'm glad she didn't land on the street," Elisa grumbles as she puts her gun back in its holster.

"Why the sudden concern for her?" Goliath asks in surprise.

"I'm not," Elisa answers as she slips her arm around his neck again. "I just don't want her falling on anybody."

"Good point," he agrees as he gladly holds her closer.

"Where are we going anyways?" she asks, trying to ignore the fire burning through her arm.

"Gwen's apartment," he answers as they start to descend. "I told her I would come and see Brooklyn. I think it's best that you stay there for now."

"Good, I could use a doctor," she states as her body begins to shake from a combination of the adrenaline wearing off and her arm hurting.

All he can do is hold her tighter as they continue their journey. She doesn't complain about being squeezed, but instead she just rests her forehead against the side of his neck, breathing in the scent of him and finding comfort in it. The combination of Demona's pheromones and Elisa leaning against an erogenous zone sends a bolt of electricity straight down to his loin cloth and he barely contains his growl of need.

Fortunately, they're landing on the roof of Gwen's apartment building a few minutes later. Not even bothering to pause to set Elisa on her feet, he marches over to the door and quickly heads down three flights of stairs. The fact that she's not protesting being carried has him worried and when he gets to Gwen's door, he bangs on it with a bit more force than necessary.

* * *

Not a sound is made for several seconds and Gwen is fairly certain her heart is going to burst right out of her rib cage.

"Who is it?" Matt shouts and Gwen, for the second time tonight, is glad he came up.

"Matt?" Goliath's voice can clearly be heard from the other side of the door.

There's a collective sigh of relief as Gwen goes to open the door. The relief is instantly gone when she sees Elisa in the gargoyle's arms. The detective's face is flush and sweating, her lips are more swollen than usual and she's trembling.

"Put her on my bed," Gwen instructs as she heads for her bedroom with Goliath behind her. "What happened?"

"We were attacked," Goliath answers as he lies Elisa down on the small bed and Gwen goes into her closet and starts opening a small safe.

"What in the world could possibly attack you?" Lars asks as he slips into the room, the others trying to follow.

"Not what, who," Goliath nearly growls as he turns to look at his clan mates. "Demona has risen and she attacked us on the way over here."

Gwen lucks out again as everyone's attention is on Goliath and they don't notice her mess up the combination on the safe. She can feel the blood leave her face and she tries to concentrate on what she's doing and not on a memory. Brooklyn's snarl of anger snaps her out of her shock and she turns to look at him as Lars tries to slip behind Goliath for protection.

"So what happened to Elisa?" Matt asks as Lex squeezes past his legs filling up the tiny room even more.

"Demona bit her on the arm," Goliath explains, hovering over the woman he loves.

"Goliath, get her out of that jacket," Gwen instructs as she goes back to unlocking the safe. "Once that's done, I want everyone out of this room. Lars, take dinner and the gargoyles down to your apartment. Matt, I need you to call 911 and then wait downstairs for the ambulance to arrive."

"You think she's that bad?" Lex asks as he stands up straight to get a better look at his friend while Goliath removes her jacket.

"Look at her," Gwen instructs as she finally gets her bag out and stands up. "She's going into shock. Now please, do as I've instructed and she should be ok."

"I won't leave her," Goliath warns, not budging from his spot beside the bed.

"Fine, but you'll have to wait in the living room," she replies as she wedges herself between him and Elisa.

Goliath is so startled by her audacity that he actually steps back and gives her some room. He stands and watches until Lex pulls on his hand to get his attention. The small gargoyle nods his head towards the door and then turns to go out it.

Goliath hesitates for a moment and watches as Gwen carefully examines the injured limb. The area above the elbow is badly inflamed and swollen and Elisa groans as beads of sweat cover her brow. Gwen starts muttering in another language as she quickly starts cleaning the wound and he can hear Elisa starting to have trouble breathing.

"Goliath, you aren't helping," Gwen snarls, not even bothering to look up at the being that could crush her like a twig. "Now please leave."

"Gwen, the emergency dispatcher wants to know what's wrong with her," Matt calls from the kitchen.

"Tell them she's going into anaphylactic shock," Gwen yells back as she pulls a strange cylinder and a pair of medical scissors out of her bag. "Scheisse, Goliath, get the hell out of my room!" 

A second later, Brooklyn and Lex return and gently pull Goliath out of the room just as Gwen starts to pull Elisa's shoes off. He lets them lead him out of the room, but he refuses to go past the hallway and watches through the open door as Gwen begins to cut open Elisa's pant leg. Before he can go charging back into the room, a hand on his arm catches his attention. He looks down and is startled to see that it's Lars looking up at him with sad eyes.

"Don't," Lars pleads. "Anaphylactic shock is very serious. Left untreated, it can kill her. Gwen and I both know what it's like, so please trust her to take good care of your friend. Would you please help me bring dinner down to my place?"

"I can't just leave her," Goliath rumbles, torn between wanting to protect the woman he loves and letting someone else do it for him.

"Going in there will only endanger her life," Lars warns him. "Let Gwen do her job."

Reluctantly, the gargoyle lets the man pull him away from the bedroom so he never sees Gwen slam the strange cylinder into Elisa's thigh. His arms are loaded down with something, he's not sure what he's carrying and then he's lead out of the apartment. A few minutes later, he's sitting in Lars much larger apartment's living room feeling completely helpless. A plate of food is thrust into his talons, but he just ignores it as he stares unseeing into space.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Thanks, Koala, for the quick lesson in swearing in German. 


	10. Aftershock

"You know, if you don't at least try Lars lasagna, he's going to be very upset," a quiet voice tells him. "And trust me; the last thing we want is Lars being upset."

It takes Goliath a few moments, but he finally looks over at the small woman sitting on the other end of the couch from him. She has a small smile on her lips but her eyes are sad as she gazes back at him. It strikes him how odd it is how someone so tiny could have such a big impact on his life in the past twenty-four hours.

"Why?" he finally asks, not exactly sure which 'why' he wants answered.

"Because, an upset Lars is a cleaning frenzy Lars," she softly chuckles. "I know two in the morning is no big deal for you guys, but for us diurnal types, it's a little upsetting to have your neighbor running the vacuum cleaner. Especially when he's running it in your apartment."

"Your rugs were filthy," Lars states huffily as he hands Gwen a plate of food. "And don't even get me started on your grout."

"See what I mean?" she laughs as Lars marches back into the kitchen. "For the sake of my sanity, please eat."

"How is she?" he finally asks, staring back at the plate of food.

"Well, she's on her way to the hospital," she tells him in a much more subdued tone. "Once she's there, the doctors will do everything they can for her. Since I'm not a human doctor, I don't want to say that everything's going to be peaches and cream, but anaphylactic shock is survivable if you get medical treatment on time. I can tell you I've never been so glad to have that EpiPen in my bag before."

"What is anaphylactic shock and what is an EpiPen?" he questions.

"Anaphylactic shock is when the body has a severe allergic reaction to something it comes in contact with," she explains. "Usually it's some type of food, but in this case it may be to the saliva of the gargoyle that bit her. As for the EpiPen, it's a device that injects medicine into a person who is going into anaphylactic shock."

"So why did you have one in your bag?" he inquires as he finally picks up his fork.

"I'm allergic to shellfish," she replies as she lifts her first bit of food to her mouth.

"How much did you use of it on Elisa?" he asks, finally getting some food onto his eating utensil.

"All of it," she answers after she swallows. "It's a single dose."

"Why did you have to cut her pants?" he questions, watching her out of the corner of his eye as takes a bite of food.

"It has to be administered into a major muscle group," she explains. "The thigh muscles are the biggest group in the human body, so that's what I went for."

They sit in silence as they both eat their dinners, one thought chasing after another in his head. When they're done eating, she takes their plates back into the kitchen and he finally takes a look around at his surroundings.

The main living room/dining room area is at least twice the size of Gwen's and it's decorated with very nice furniture. The kitchen's right off of the front door and on the other side of the room is another door that leads to what looks to be a hallway. Lex and Brooklyn are sitting on the floor in front of him playing some type of racing game on the flat screen TV and Gwen and Lars are in the kitchen quietly talking.

"Where's Matt?" Goliath asks as Gwen heads for the front door.

"He went to the hospital with Elisa," she answers with her hand on the door knob. "He'll call as soon as he knows something."

"Where are you going?" he interrogates further, his eyes narrowing.

"To go get the paper work that I didn't do this afternoon," she replies while opening the door. "I'll be back in a minute."

With that, she leaves and true to her word, she's back a few minutes later. The large gargoyle watches her as she settles at the table with her black satchel and pulls out a pile of papers. A couple small folded cards fall onto the floor, but she doesn't notice as she pulls out a pen from a side pocket. Lars picks up the cards and reads them, his eyes just about popping out of his head when he does.

"And when were you planning on telling me?" the man demands, putting his hands on his hips.

"When was I planning on telling you what?" she asks, not even looking up as she starts to write.

"That you had been invited to two of the fanciest restaurants in Manhattan," he replies, waving the cards he picked up off of the floor at her.

Goliath watches with mild amusement as all of the color drains from the nearly unflappable doctor's face, her eyes get to be as big as dinner plates and she makes a little squeaking noise. Without warning, she lunges at Lars, but he just gracefully dances out of her reach and she ends up tripping over her own feet.

"I thought not," he snorts as he marches towards the door. "I bet you don't have a thing to wear either."

"You stay out of my closet, mister," she warns as she gets to her feet.

But it's too late; Lars is long gone by the time she gets up off of the floor. With a groan, she goes back to her seat and plops back down. She drops her face into her hands and waits for the inevitable. Several minutes later, Lars stomps back into the apartment with a look of horror on his face.

"How could you…how can you…?" he sputters at first. "Have you taken a good look at what's in your closet?"

"I am perfectly aware of what's in my closet," she grumbles as she picks up her pen. "It's all perfectly wearable."

"Not to the nicest places in Manhattan," he gasps. "You cannot possibly go dressed in anything you have in your closet."

"You suggesting that borrow something out of your closet?" she mutters as she sinks down in her chair and refuses to look at him.

"Don't be silly, we'll go shopping," he states as if it's the easiest thing in the world.

"No," she growls as she crams her papers back into her satchel.

"And why not?" he asks, sounding like his feelings have been hurt.

"Because I'm not going," she snaps as she stands up and storms out of the apartment.

"What was that all about?" Lex asks after several seconds of silence.

"That was her not so subtle way of telling me that her pocket book is on the thin side again," Lars sighs as he drops the cards onto the table.

"How can a doctor not have money?" Brooklyn asks, the game he and Lex were playing completely forgotten.

"That's not for me to discuss," Lars replies as he heads back to the kitchen.

The gargoyles look at each other for a few moments until Brooklyn shrugs and goes back to his game. Goliath turns and scowls at the closed door and Lex slinks over to the table. He picks up the cards and reads them, but they don't give him much other than who sent one of them.

"Matt sent one of these," Lex blurts out.

"How do you know?" Lars asks as he walks back into the living room carrying a couple plates with something chocolaty on it.

"I recognize his hand writing," the small gargoyle replies.

"Well, that does explain why she started blushing whenever he got to close to her," Lars snickers as he hands Goliath a plate.

"What is this?" Goliath asks as he sniffs it.

"It's my fabulous double chocolate cheese cake," Lars proudly replies as he hands another plate to Brooklyn. "Guaranteed to cure whatever ails you, emotionally at any rate."

"Hey, this is really good, thanks," Brooklyn states around a mouth full of food.

"You're very welcome," Lars happily responds and he nearly bounces back into the kitchen.

Goliath watches his second wolf down the dessert before restarting his game. The rig on Brooklyn's wing makes it hard for the gargoyle to fold his wing over his shoulder, so instead it's folded awkwardly behind the younger gargoyle.

"I don't suppose in all the excitement that she had a chance to look at your wing," Goliath grumbles.

"She did it while you were moping about Elisa going to the hospital," Brooklyn replies as he leans to the side trying to make his car go around a bend and ends up crashing anyways. "She said that there's still about a two inch gap between the bones but she thinks one more day and then she'll be able to take the rigging off. Until then I have to keep eating those stupid calcium tablets. They taste like flavored chalk."

"I wasn't moping," Goliath mutters defensively.

"Uh-huh, sure you weren't," Brooklyn snickers as he starts a new game. "That's why you were staring into space is if it was day for nearly twenty minutes."

Goliath scowls at his clan mate for a good minute before deciding to get up and stretch. He looks around and sees the only other body in the room is Lars who's working on his lap top at the table. He looks around the room again, but Lex is no where to be seen.

"Where's Lexington?" Goliath asks to no one and everyone.

"He went up to take a piece of cheesecake up to Gwen," Lars answers without looking up from his computer.

"Why did you send him?" Goliath demands stepping closer to the man. "Why not go yourself?"

"Lex offered to go," Lars replies, finally looking up from his work. "Besides, I have a feeling that if I went up there right now I'd not only get to wear the cheesecake but the door would be slammed in my face."

"So you let him go alone?" Goliath snarls, his wings partially unfurling to increase his size.

"Who's going to get him, Goliath?" Lars counter asks. "The boogie man?"

* * *

Lex quietly knocks on Gwen's apartment door and then sits in the hall intent on waiting until dawn if he has to.

"Who is it?" he hears a tired voice call through the door.

"Lex," he yells back and a moment later the door is opened by a nearly panicked Gwen.

"What's wrong?" she asks worriedly.

"I was going to ask you that," he replies as he hands her the plate of cheesecake. "Why don't you want to go out with Matt? Don't you like him?"

"I don't know," she answers sadly as she turns and heads back into the apartment. "I only met him this morning. I've only been around him about an hour or so, so that's hardly a basis to state whether or not I like him. How did you know that he asked me out?"

"I recognized his hand writing on one of the cards," Lex answers as he follows her in and closes the door behind him. "But why not go out with him? Then you could get to know him better."

"Besides the fact that, as Lars not so subtly pointed out, I have nothing to wear, I'm not interested in having a man in my life," she replies as she sits down at the small table and starts to eat her dessert. "Did Lars set you up to this? Because if he did, I'm going to tell you now I'm not happy."

"I offered to come since Lars had a feeling you'd stuff the cheesecake somewhere and not your face," he states as he settles in the chair opposite from her. "Why don't you want a man in your life?"

"It's complicated," she mumbles around a mouth full of food.

"But I thought humans want to have a mate," he says in confusion.

"Those that have time for them do," she points out. "Like I said, it's complicated."

"What's so complicated about it?" he asks. "You're a woman, he's a man. What's so hard about that?"

"What's so hard about that is that anything that distracts me from my goal, takes me further from home," she states as she takes a rather large piece of cake and stuffs it into her mouth.

"So what's your goal?" he insists.

"To get home," she answers evasively after she finally swallows.

"But isn't this your home?" he questions.

"This is the place I live, not my home," she responds as she starts to scrape the last of the chocolate off of the plate.

"So, where's home?" he inquires.

"Switzerland," she replies reluctantly as she licks the last chocolate molecule off of her fork.

"Wow, you're a long way from home," he states in shock. "How'd you end up here?"

"That's a long story," she sighs while putting the fork down and pushing the plate away.

"I've got all night," he reminds her.

"I don't," she reminds him.

"Ok, so what do you need to get home?" he continues.

"Money mostly," she says with another sigh.

"Won't your fee pretty much cover that?" he asks.

"What fee?" she inquires, her brow furrowing.

"The one Xanatos is going to pay you for fixing Brooklyn's wing," he states.

"Xanatos isn't paying me anything," she tells him.

"You mean Xanatos talked you into doing this for nothing?" he asks in surprise. "He's getting off without paying anything?"

"I didn't say Xanatos isn't going to pay, I'm just not the one getting the money," she replies. "He's promised to donate enough money to the zoo to build a new exhibit for the bats."

"You're doing this for a bunch of bats?" he questions, shocked.

"So, what's wrong with that?" she shoots back defensively.

"It's just that most of the humans I've met would want something for themselves first and then do something for others," he replies.

"I'm not like most humans," she points out. "I was raised to think of others first, me second."

"But they're just bats," he states.

"And to some, you're just a monster," she reminds him, causing him to frown at her. "Don't think I got nothing out of this deal with Xanatos. I've always wanted to meet you guys and I finally got to."

"Bet you weren't expecting to nearly get killed, though, were you?" he inquires as he points to her still bandaged arm.

"No, I wasn't," she answers with a shrug. "But I don't blame Angela. She wakes up and there's a stranger standing over her clan mate and she's a bit hormonal right now. I can't say I was thrilled with her reaction, but I won't blame her."

"What's 'hormonal'?" he asks.

"Hormones are chemicals our bodies release and are usually associated with reproduction," she tells him, leaning onto the table. "So when someone's being 'hormonal' it usually means that they're 'in the mood for love,' so to speak."

"How did you know Angela was being hormonal?" he questions.

"I've worked around animals long enough to recognize a female going into her reproductive cycle," she responds with a smile. "And I've been having my own cycles long enough to know what it's like. Moody doesn't even begin to cover it sometimes. Besides, didn't Goliath mention something about her mating tonight?"

"Yeah, he did," he replies. "So why didn't you ask for money, especially since you need it?"

"I don't know," she muses as she leans her chin on her hand. "I guess it never crossed my mind. The thought of meeting you guys was enough for me."

"You're not like most humans I've met," he states.

"I certainly hope not," she quietly chuckles as she picks her satchel up off of the floor where she had dumped it. "I don't want to appear rude, Lexington, but I really need to get this paper work done. You're welcome to stay, but I do need a bit of quiet to work."

"I think I'll go wait downstairs if it's ok," he says as he slides out of his seat. "Lars is a bit different too."

"You don't know the half of it," she laughs. "I'm afraid I've been chewing poor Lars's ear off about you guys ever since I found out you were real. I guess he's kind of used to the idea of gargoyles being just as smart as humans, if not smarter."

"That's not exactly what I meant," he replies as he goes to the door. "He's just…different."

"Is that a bad thing?" she asks with a smile.

"No, I guess not," he answers with a smile in return.

He leaves the apartment as she pulls her paper work back out of her bag. With a sigh, she starts filling out the medical forms in front of her. Within moments she's completely concentrating on her work and is completely taken by surprised when all hell breaks loose seconds later.


	11. Emergency

She's barely aware of anything going on around her. All she knows is that her arm feels like it's on fire, her tongue seems to have swollen to twice its size and now it's getting harder for her to breathe. She can feel her heart pounding in her chest and sweat is trickling down her back.

She's concentrating on breathing so much that she's only barely aware of Goliath landing or being laid down on a bed a few minutes later. She can hear voices, but can only distantly place them as people she knows. It's like she's in another world and only connected to this one by a tenuous thread.

She can feel someone removing her jacket, clean her arm and then remove her shoes. She's aware of these things happening to her, but she can't seem to do anything to prevent them. Even when she senses someone cutting her pant leg, she can do nothing.

She can hear voices arguing, but she can't stop them. She can't even let them know that she can hear them even if she can barely understand what they're saying. A moment later that seems more like a life time, the voices stop and she can feel her leg exposed to the air. A second later something sharp stabs her in the leg and she can't even object to the pain.

Soon, someone is handling her arm again and she wants to whimper in pain, to tell them to stop because it hurts, but she's unable to make a sound. Fortunately, a short time later it becomes a little easier to breath, but she's still not with it enough to answer people when they start calling her name.

Now there are voices of people she doesn't recognize talking to her and to the other people she does know. She feels herself being transferred to another bed, but this one is moved a moment after she's strapped down to it. She knows that they're trying to be careful, but the swaying motion isn't doing much for her stomach.

An eternity later, she can feel them drop down the wheels to the stretcher and she's rolled out into the cool night air. By this time she's finally able to open her eyes a little, but not much and her breathing is a little easier than it was before. She turns towards a voice when it calls her name and she's looking into the face of an EMT. She tries to answer the woman's questions, but her tongue still feels like it's too big for her mouth.

She lies there as they move her into the ambulance and watches passively as the EMT sticks an IV into her arm. Her head slowly begins to clear and breathing becomes easier. She hadn't realized it until now that she wasn't swallowing and gladly does so as her throat no longer feels like she's being strangled.

A short time later, the back doors are closed and one of the EMTs gets in the front and starts driving. The EMT that stays in the back with her starts asking her questions, but all she can do is nod or shake her head as she can't seem to talk with her tongue still too swollen. The EMT smiles at her, telling her that she'll be fine as they make their way through the city.

What seems to be hours later, the ambulance stops and goes into a reverse as they back up to the emergency room doors. Within moments of them stopping, the back doors swing open and Elisa is rolled out of the back of the vehicle and into the hospital. There's a flurry of lights and sounds as she's quickly moved into a room followed by more people talking to her and poking at her arm. She's finally able to make a sound of displeasure as someone jabs at one of the holes in her arm.

A moment later, someone is stabbing her in the arm with a needle. She looks over as he pulls out the needle and reinserts it in a different spot, injecting some more of whatever's in the syringe into her arm. This process is repeated several more times before her arm is released.

She sighs with relief when the person is done using her as a pin cushion and what's even better is that the pain in her arm is quickly fading. When someone comes to ask her questions, she can only grunt in response since her tongue still doesn't want to work properly. They just nod understandingly and tell her what the doctor is about to do to her.

She nods that she understands and watches passively as he begins to dig around in the four puncture wounds that Demona left on her arm. She looks on in fascination as he carefully extracts little bits and pieces of something from a couple of the holes and puts them in a little dish. Once he's done, he cleans her arm again and bandages it. He then gives her an injection of medicine through the IV, telling her that he'll check in on her in a while just before he leaves.

Slowly, her body begins to come back to normal. Breathing no longer has to be concentrated on, swallowing is no longer difficult, she can open her eyes all the way and she can finally move her tongue around. With another sigh, she relaxes and starts to ponder on how the others are doing. Just as she begins to get antsy and wonders how long she's going to have to be in this little room, Matt sticks his head in the door.

"Hey, partner, how's it going?" he asks, with a smile on his face.

"Hi," she croaks and quickly swallows, trying to moisten her throat. "What happened?"

"You went into anaphylactic shock," he answers as he comes all the way into the room. "You had a really bad reaction to something when Demona bit you. Good thing Goliath brought you to Gwen because she knew just what to do. The doctor says that she may have even saved your life with that EpiPen."

"To bad she couldn't save my pants," she jokes, still sounding like a frog as she fingers the cut edges of her pant leg.

"She told me it was either cut the pant leg or pull your pants off," he tells her as he sits next to her bed. "And with Goliath hovering over her, she figured her chances of survival were better if she just ruined your pants."

"Yeah, probably," she replies hoarsely. "Goliath still doesn't fully trust her yet."

"Her bedside manner could use some work, but she does know what she's doing," he chuckles as he stands back up. "Listen, I'm going to go call them and let them know how your doing. I'll be back in a bit. Is there anything you need?"

"Something to drink would be great," she answers. "I feel like I've swallowed a pound of cotton or something."

"Ok, a drink it is," he nods as he heads for the door. "I'll be back in a bit."

He leaves the room and a minute later a nurse comes in with a paper cup.

"Your friend said you were thirsty, so I brought you some water," she says as she hands Elisa the cup.

"Thanks," Elisa croaks.

The nurse smiles and then exits as well. There's not a lot to do after she's finished her water, so she closes her eyes to relax a bit. The next time she opens her eyes Matt is back sitting in the chair near her bed and reading a magazine.

"Hey," she yawns as she stretches. "How long was I out?"

"A couple hours," he answers as he drops the magazine onto the table next to him. "It took me a while to get through, but I finally did reach them. Goliath says he may not see you tomorrow night. They're going to have to keep an eye out for Demona to make sure she doesn't interfere with Angela and Broadway. Hudson is watching out for them tonight, but Goliath doesn't think Demona will be a problem tonight since you used her for target practice and Goliath seems to be the one she wants. Gwen is hoping that Brooklyn will be able to go home tomorrow night as well. It all depends on whether or not his wing finishes healing by then. If it does, he has to go back to the vets to have the rig on his wing removed. I'm taking Gwen out Friday night. Lex is in a bit of a bad mood though I really couldn't get a calm answer out of anyone as to why. Something about the idiot landlady calling someone or the other."

"I think the drugs they've given me are affecting my hearing," she states.

"Why's that?" he asks, managing to keep a straight face.

"I could have sworn I heard you say that you're taking Gwen out on a date," she replies, her gaze boring into him.

"And what if I did?" he questions, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"You only just met her this morning!" she laughs, unable to help herself.

"So?" he snorts back. "Is there some statute of limitations that states how long I have to know a girl before I can ask her out? Because if there is, no one ever told me."

"No, but don't you think you should get to know her better before you ask her out?" she asks.

"Can you think of a better way to get to know her than taking her out to dinner?" he counter asks with a raised eyebrow.

"No," she grudgingly admits. "How much longer am I going to have to sit here?"

"Why don't I go find a nurse or somebody to find out, hm?" he suggest as he gets up.

"That'd be great, thanks, Matt," she sighs.

A while later, the nurse comes in and asks a bunch of questions noting the answers down on a file. After that, she exits the room and the doctor enters several minutes later carrying the same folder the nurse had. He briefly examines her arm and asks her a few more questions. When that's done, he hands her a prescription and instructions on how to care for her arm for the next couple days. Shortly after he leaves, the nurse comes in again and detaches Elisa from the monitors that she's attached to and slides the IV needle out of her arm.

Once all of the medical staff leaves, she sits up and swings her legs over the side of the bed. Matt hands her her shoes and she gladly puts them on. As soon as she's able, she's out of the door before anyone else can use her as a dart board. Matt follows her out into the hallway and then leads outside and then to his car. They drive through the night for some time as Elisa mulls things over in her mind.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Matt finally offers after several miles of silence.

"Why didn't he tell me?" she wonders aloud, hurt and anger evident in her voice. "Why didn't he warn me? He could have at least warned me not to come by tonight. What was he thinking, not warning me? Sometimes I seriously wonder if his head stays stone at night too. What was he thinking? I could have died! Do you realize that I could have died?"

"Ok, I think I want a refund," he states with a small chuckle, stopping her raging in its tracks. "Listen, I'm sure he didn't realize that Demona's bite would send you to the hospital and if he did, I'm sure he would have done something different. You should have seen the look in his eyes when Gwen opened her door. He was worried and we all but had to drag him out of Gwen's bedroom so she could take care of you. And you looked bad, partner. You looked really bad."

"How bad?" she asks with a hushed voice.

"Your face was red and so swollen that you couldn't open your eyes," he tells her but refusing to look at her. "I could hear you trying to breathe. Lars went about as white as a sheet when he saw you. Goliath looked like he was about to rip something apart. I saw him just before we left. He was sitting in Lars living room staring into space. If I didn't know any better, I could have sworn he had turned to stone."

"He still could have said something," she grumbles, slumping down in her seat.

"Elisa, he does care about you, but what was he supposed to say to you?" he asks. "Hi, honey, don't come over, Angela is more likely to want to kill you then look at you. Oh, and Demona wants me to have sex with her."

Despite her best effort, a little snort of laughter sneaks out and Matt just grins. They drive on in silence until Elisa finally notices where they're going.

"Hey, Matt?" she queries.

"Yeah?" he responds.

"My car is over by the castle," she tells him.

"And your apartment is this way," he replies. "You're wiped out, Elisa. If I let you drive home in your condition and something happens to you, what do you think Goliath is going to do to me?"

"Probably nothing permanent," she smirks tiredly.

"Thanks, that's a real comfort," he snorts. "We'll pick up your car tomorrow, ok?"

"Ok," she grudgingly agrees as she lets out a yawn. "But you better come and get me early. I don't like leaving it out over night on the street."

"If you give me the keys I'll ask Xanatos to put it in the garage," he offers.

"Yeah, I guess that'll work," she yawns again, dragging the keys out of her pocket and handing them over.

A short time later, he parks illegally in front of a fire hydrant and gets her up to apartment. He's back down in record time, but not fast enough since there's a blue and white double parked next to him when he comes out. After having to show his badge and ID, Matt manages to get out of a ticket, but he can hear the officer grumbling about high and mighty detectives. Matt chuckles to himself as he heads toward the castle and after dropping off the keys, heads for home and his own pillow.

* * *

**Author's note:** Sorry this has taken so long. I had a bit of writer's block, not to mention my muse has gone psycho. I love her dearly, but she's got me started on yet another story, so I am now currently working on four, count them _four_, different stories in three different universes. May the gods have mercy on me. As always, please review. 


	12. Surprise

Lex quietly shuts the door to Gwen's apartment and begins his journey back down to Lars' apartment. He thinks about their conversation, rolling what she did and didn't say around in his mind. He's so absorbed in his thoughts that he never sees it coming.

* * *

Gwen is quickly slipping into a state of mind that shuts everything out. It's the only way she can get her paperwork done and short of a bomb going off next to her, she usually just tunes out the rest of the world. Before she can totally become immersed in her work, what sounds like the biggest cat fight in history is going on out in the corridor and she knocks her chair over as she leaps for the door.

* * *

Goliath has taken to going through Lars' library in order to get his mind off of Elisa going to the hospital while Brooklyn continues to play video games and Lars works on his computer. Picking up a likely candidate, Goliath reads the summery on the dust jacket of the tome or at least tries to. He can't seem to keep his mind on what he's doing, all he can think about is seeing Elisa lying there with her face so swollen that she can't open her eyes and hearing her struggling to breathe. With a sigh of defeat, he puts the book back on the shelf and starts to pace.

Before he gets more than a few steps, Goliath hears Lex's roars of anger tinged with fear. In a heartbeat, Goliath is out the door with Brooklyn right on his tail. They follow the sounds up onto the second floor and find a tug of war going on with Lex as part of the rope. With all of the shouting going on, it's hard to hear what people are saying, but the scene before them speaks for itself.

There are two men in identical outfits each holding a poll with a lasso attached to it standing at the end of the corridor with the landlady standing behind them. One of the men has managed to get the lasso around Lex's neck and the second one is attempting to follow suit. Gwen has hold of the poll that has a hold of Lex in one hand and is pushing the other poll away with the other.

With a roar of anger, Goliath and Brooklyn are down the hallway in a blink of an eye. The landlady is roughly pushed out of the way as Goliath grabs the two men and slams them against the wall while Brooklyn destroys the two polls. Gwen quickly gets the rope off of Lex, but as she's trying to examine his neck, he leaps through the air and lands on Welker causing the woman to scream.

Gwen quickly follows the small gargoyle and starts trying to pull him off of the annoying woman. Lars gets there a moment later and helps her get Lex off of the landlady despite Lex's struggles. Eventually the two humans wrestle Lex to the floor and Welker beats a hasty retreat back downstairs.

"Lexington, please calm down," Gwen yells over the growling. "Goliath, please let them go."

"Why?" Goliath snarls back.

"Because they were only doing their job," she sighs finally releasing Lex when she hears Welker's door slam shut. "They're animal control. Welker must have called them."

"We aren't animals," Goliath growls turning glowing white eyes to the two terrified men.

"Sure, sure, whatever you say," one of them whimpers.

"Right, not animals," the second one sputters. "Got it."

With one final snarl of warning, Goliath lets them go and the men quite possibly break the four minute mile getting out of the building. With a sigh that a combination of relief and frustration she watches them go. It's only then that she notices Lars struggling to keep Lex in place.

"What's going on?" she asks as she walks over to them.

"That woman called those men to come after us," Lex growls as he digs his talons into the floor and drags Lars a few more inches down the hall. "I'm going to…"

"March your tail right back up to my apartment and let me look at your neck," she interrupts, less than amused.

"No," Lex snarls and he gets a little farther down the corridor.

"As much as I'd love to see you scare Welker right out of her hair rollers, it won't do any good," she responds. "All you're going to do is reinforce her belief that you're a dangerous animal."

"Gwen is right," Goliath states as he steps in front of his clan mate. "Going after that woman will serve no purpose. Go back upstairs and let her tend to your wounds."

"But…," Lex starts to protest.

"Now, Lexington," Goliath commands.

"Fine," Lex grumbles as Lars gets off of him.

Lex sulks back upstairs with Gwen right be hind him. Lars stands up and is confronted with a scowling Goliath. A quick glance over at Brooklyn shows that he's not looking too happy either.

"I'm guessing I shouldn't have held on to him, huh?" Lars bashfully asks.

"No, you shouldn't have," Goliath agrees, nearly growling.

"Sorry," Lars says. "I didn't know what else to do."

"Next time, leave my clan to me," Goliath states before turning and heading back downstairs.

Lars follows the gargoyles back down to his apartment silently, watching them as they move. From a dancer's point of view, they're not very graceful, though their muscles are just about mouth watering. But he figures from a vet's point of view, seeing such incredibly powerful beings up close must be breath taking. He idly wonders how graceful they are in flight as he opens the door for his unexpected, but not unwelcome, guests.

For the first time since meeting Gwen, he's glad of all the times she nearly talked his ears off about gargoyles. He's not quite sure how she knows so much, but with all the articles she's read and the shows she's watched, she must be one of the leading experts on them by now. Without her knowledge, he's sure he would have been on the wrong end of their ire long before now.

As they step into the apartment, Brooklyn heads back to the video game he had abandoned and Goliath returns to the bookshelf to stare at the books. Lars heads for kitchen to get himself something to drink and sees that there's a message on his answering machine. He hits the play button as he reaches for a glass and a second later Matt's voice fills the apartment.

"Hey, guys, it's Matt," the machine announces, immediately getting the attention of Goliath and Brooklyn. "Just calling to say Elisa's going to be fine. I'm going to call Gwen's place now. Talk to you later. Bye."

The sound of the line being disconnected is quickly followed by the machine giving the day and time and Lars glances over at the clock.

"Huh, seems we just missed his call by a couple minutes," he muses.

He turns to look out at the others and discovers he's talking to himself. He chuckles to himself as he goes over and closes the door behind them. He can distantly hear them charging up the stairs towards Gwen's apartment.

* * *

Gwen opens her apartment door just as the phone starts to ring. She quickly grabs the handset as Lex follows her in, sulking all the way.

"Hello?" she greets.

"Hello, beautiful," a man's voice at the other end of the line replies.

"Oh…uh…hi, Matt," she stutters as her face reddens, remembering what Lex told her about one of the invitations. "Here, talk to Lex."

She shoves the phone into the small gargoyle's hand and dashes into her bedroom. He stares at the device for a moment until the sound of Matt's voice jars him out of his daze.

"Hello?" Lex says tentatively.

"Hey, Lex," Matt responds. "What happened to Gwen?"

"She went to get her medical bag," Lex grumbles.

"Her bag?" Lars questions. "What does she need her bag for?"

"That miserable woman called these control people," Lex snarls. "And they put a rope around my neck like I was some type of animal."

"Who called what?" Matt asks in complete confusion. "Gwen called some control people? What control people?"

"Not Gwen, that Welker woman," Lex growls as someone bangs on the door.

"Who is it?" Gwen calls out as she walks back into the room.

"Goliath," Goliath yells back.

Gwen opens the door and Goliath and Brooklyn come in. Goliath quickly looks around and sees Lex holding the phone.

"Is that Matt?" Goliath asks.

"Yeah," Lex answers.

"May I have the phone please?" Goliath requests as he holds his hand out and Lex hands it over as Gwen herds him into the family room.

"Matt, it's Goliath," Goliath states as soon as he has to phone up to his ear. "How's Elisa?"

"Hey, Goliath," Matt responds. "What is this? Pass the phone?"

"How is Elisa?" Goliath repeats, letting his impatience evident in his voice.

"She's going to be fine," Matt replies. "They had to dig what looks to be bits of her shirt and jacket out of her arm and they say she's going to be sore for a day or two, but she should be as good as new once the bruising goes down. Can I talk to Gwen?"

"No," Goliath states quite simply. "Why did she go into that anaphylactic shock?"

"They don't know yet," Matt answers. "It could have been from the bits they pulled out of her arm or it could have been from Demona's saliva."

"If it was Demona's saliva and Demona finds out about it…," Goliath trails off, not even wanting to think about it much less talk about it.

"Listen, they want to run tests on her first," Matt states. "Let's not panic until we know for sure. Ok?"

"Your right," Goliath replies after a lengthy pause. "How is she doing now?"

"She's doing better, but they're going to keep her here for a while longer," Matt replies. "They want to make sure she's completely recovered before they let her go. When are you coming to visit?"

"I don't think that would be wise," Goliath states. "If people in a vet's office didn't like the appearance of a gargoyle, I don't care to find out how they would feel in an emergency room. Tell her that I won't be able to visit tomorrow night since I'll need to help keep watch over Broadway and Angela to make sure Demona doesn't interfere with them. She is probably still recovering from the bullet wound that Elisa gave her so she shouldn't pose a threat tonight."

"Is any one watching over them tonight, just in case Demona does recover?" Matt asks.

"Hudson is keeping an eye on them," Goliath answers. "I saw them take off shortly after I left with Elisa. Do you still want to talk to Gwen?"

"Yes, please," Matt says.

"Here, he wants to talk to you now," Goliath says.

He holds the phone out to Gwen as she finishes taping the bandage around Lex's neck. She looks at the phone like it might bite her for a few seconds before she tentatively takes it from him. She takes a deep breath and then lets it out.

"Hi again," she says, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice.

Brooklyn and Lex both sit down across the room from where she's sitting at the table, looking for all the world like they're going to watch a really interesting show. At least they do until Goliath taps them on the shoulder and points to the door. With crestfallen looks, the younger gargoyles allow themselves to be shepherded out of the apartment by their leader.

"Hey, cutie, how are things?" Matt asks, sounding genuinely happy to talk to her.

"Oh, um, well things are ok at the moment," she replies, gulping a couple times to keep from hyperventilating. "Brooklyn's wing needs another day's rest I think. There's still nearly a two inch gap between the bones and since there was about a five inch gap last night, I'm pretty sure come sunset tomorrow he'll be able to have the rig taken off. Of course that means going back to the vet's office to do that and then giving him a local so we can remove the gear, but he should be right as rain after that."

"What about Lex?" Matt questions in concern. "What happened?"

"Welker was being her typical prejudice self again is what happened," she nearly snarls just as a beep can be heard over the line. "Hold on a minute, I've got another call coming in."

"Ok," Matt reluctantly agrees and he hears her click over.

He stands there outside the hospital staring up at the mere sliver that is the moon. He tries to be patient, but it's a bit chilly out and the hand that's holding the phone is getting cold. Besides, he's not used to girls making him wait.

"Matt?" Gwen asks, startling him out of his reverie.

"Yeah, I'm here," he assures her.

"Listen I have to go," she tells him. "I'll talk to you later."

"Wait!" he yells. "What about Lex? Why are you hanging up?"

"Lex will be fine by tomorrow night," she quickly answers. "I'm sorry about having to hanging up on you, but my parents are on the other line and I don't get to talk to them very often."

"Oh, right, parents definitely out rank would be boyfriends," he jokes. "I'll talk to you later, beautiful. Bye."

"Bye," she nearly squeaks as she can feel her face heating up again and she swiftly clicks over to the other line. "Bon jour, Mama. Bon jour, Papa. Bon jour, Onyx."

"Bon jour, Gwen," her mother replies.

"Bon jour, moppet," her father responds.

"Bon jour, mon ami," her oldest and dearest friend greets in her rough gravelly voice.

* * *

**Author's note:** A little short, I know, but this seemed like a good place to stop, so there you go. My apologies for taking so long with this chapter, I've been working on 3 other stories so updates are taking a bit longer than normal. On the good side, one of those stories is now complete, so new chapters should be forthcoming a little faster now. Thanks for reading and please remember to review. 


	13. Love Bites

After making sure Lexington and Brooklyn are welcomed back into Lars' apartment, Goliath heads for the roof. As he passes Gwen's door he can hear her talking rather animatedly in a language that he can't speak or understand, but he thinks it's French. Either she's talking to someone else on the phone besides Matt or Matt has a previously unknown talent.

With a shrug, he continues up to the roof and gives a sigh of relief as the wind brushes past his face. Looking down at the same clock as the night before, he sees that it's barely ten o'clock. He shakes his head, hardly believing all that has gone on tonight.

He opens his wings with a snap and jumps off of the building. Within moments he catches an updraft and soars into the sky. Ever vigilant of another attack from Demona, he glides over likely areas that Angela and Broadway might have gotten to, figuring Hudson could do with a break. After several hours of searching, he decides to call it a night and heads back towards home.

As luck would have it, the wind just happens to carry him near Elisa's apartment building. Wondering if she's made it home yet, he decides to check in on her. Landing on her balcony with practiced ease, he opens the sliding glass door silently and steps inside the dark apartment. Moving as quietly as possible, he goes into her bedroom to check in on her.

"I have a gun," a voice warns him from the shadows.

"I certainly hope you're not planning on using it on me," he replies, slightly amused and a little bit worried.

"Goliath?" Elisa asks in confusion as she fumbles with the light on her night stand. "What are you doing sneaking around in my apartment in the middle of the night?"

"I wanted to make sure you are alright," he tells her as he steps closer to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired and sore, but other than that, I'm fine," she replies with a yawn as she sits up in bed, pulling on the bedclothes to cover up her front.

"I'm glad to hear that," he says as he steps up to the side of the bed and squats down beside it, staring into her face, refusing to look down and see what little she's wearing. "I'm sorry. I should have warned you about Angela and Demona."

"You think?" she teases and chuckles at his confused expression. "I'll be fine, Big Guy. Don't worry so much. We humans are tougher then we look."

He closes his eyes and bows his head as he lets out a sigh. He feels her small hand on the side of his face and he grudgingly allows her to turn his head back towards her. He opens his eyes again and looks into a pair of big brown eyes so full of love and trust.

"It's my fault you were hurt," he states as he reaches out and gently runs his talons through her soft hair. "I could have lost you and it would have been my fault. I would never have been able to forgive myself."

"But you didn't," she points out as she lets go of the bedclothes and cups his face with both hands. "I'm still here and that's all that matters."

She pulls him forward and gently kisses him. The smell of her and the feel of her warm lips on his sends a shiver from the top of his spine to the tip of his tail. He pulls her flush to him, wrapping his powerful arms around her slight body.

If the warmth of her lips was driving him crazy, it's nothing compared to what the feeling of her scantily clad body against his is doing to him. She circles her arms around his neck, holding him tight and he moans as he deepens the kiss. His hand cradles the back of her head making it impossible for her to pull back, but eventually the need for air forces her to turn her face to the side.

He continues to kiss her cheek, across her jaw and down to her neck where he nips and licks her. She gasps as anything that might have resembled sleep is quickly driven from her body. His talons slightly dig through her thin night gown while her body trembles as pain and pleasure battle within her and she lets out a small whimper.

"Goliath," she whispers and he suddenly freezes.

He tries to pull away but she refuses to let go so he reaches up to pull her off. She's no match for him especially when he accidentally grabs the wounds on her arm. She lets out a hiss of pain as he pushes her away, guilt overcoming him.

"Goliath, what's wrong?" she asks, trying to keep the pain out of her voice and only partially succeeding.

"I'm hurting you," he states as he quickly lets go of her.

"That's only because you grabbed my arm," she points out as she rubs the bandage on said limb. "You were doing something else as well. I liked it."

"I can't…we shouldn't…," he stammers, shaking his head.

"Goliath, what is wrong?" she reiterates, reaching for him only to have him back up into her dresser. "Why are you acting like this?"

"I'm sorry, I can't" he groans as he turns and rushes out of the room.

She gives chase, but by the time she makes it to the balcony he's just a shadow against the moon. She stands watching him soar away from her, ignoring the fact that she's wearing only a very thin shift in the very early hours on a late September morning. She watches him until he disappears into the distance. Confused and saddened by his actions, she returns to bed where sleep evades her.

* * *

A while later, Goliath lands in the courtyard of the castle where he's greeted by a very lonely Bronx. Goliath sits on a nearby rock and scratches the hound's neck as Bronx tries to climb into his lap. He sits there, lost in thought until Hudson lands next to him and only then does he look up at his old friend.

"How did it go?" Goliath asks, standing after giving Bronx on last pat.

"See for yourself," Hudson replies as he points up at one of the higher towers.

Goliath looks up and sees Broadway and Angela have returned. They stand with their arms and wings wrapped around each other as they gently and lovingly lick the wounds they inflicted on one another. With a sigh of relief that they're safe, he turns back to his old friend.

"Did you have any problems with Demona?" Goliath inquires as they start to walk towards the stairs.

"Nay, lad, all was quiet," Hudson answers as he pats Bronx as the hound bounds beside his friend. "How are things with the other two?"

Goliath proceeds to tell Hudson everything that has happened with the exception of what occurred in Elisa's apartment. He's still too embarrassed by his behavior to tell his former leader. He's not exactly sure what came over him to cause him to act that way, but until he figures it out, he's not about to admit it to any one.

"Seems you had quite the night then," Hudson chuckles as they make it to the parapet wall and the older gargoyle hops up. "But as they say, all's well that ends well. Come, lad, it's time to sleep. We only have to worry about Demona for one more night and then we can rest."

"Of course, old friend," Goliath nods as he jumps up onto the wall. "Just one more night and then we can rest."

No more is said as the first rays of the sun break over the horizon and the gargoyles are forced to rest. Xanatos and Fox emerge from the castle to look at the couple at the top of the tower. Owen and Alex appear a moment later to hand the boy over to his mother and to see what they're looking at.

"Interesting," Owen states.

"To say the least," Xanatos chuckles.

"I wonder what the gestation period for a gargoyle is," Fox muses.

"You could always ask Dr. Knight," Xanatos suggests, a knowing glint in his eye.

"You think she would know?" she asks, an eyebrow rising in curiosity.

"I think Dr. Knight is the foremost authority on gargoyle biology," her husband mysteriously replies.

"Just because she fixed Brooklyn's wing?" she questions. "How in the world does that have anything to do with how long before Angela has her baby?"

"Actually, gargoyles don't have babies," Xanatos corrects, neatly changing the subject. "They lay eggs."

"I don't even want to think about how much that's going to hurt," she moans in pity.

"Come, let's go have breakfast," Xanatos laughs as he steers her back into the castle. "I'm sure we'll know all about gargoyle babies soon enough."

* * *

_BREEP BREEP BREEP BREEP BREEP_

The alarm clock ceases its wailing the instant a hand slams down onto the snooze button. Ten more minutes, that's all she wants, ten more minutes of sleep. Of course, that's what she wanted half an hour ago too.

She cracks an eye open to look at the clock and after about a minute of staring at the dreaded thing, the time finally seeps into the functioning part of her brain. She's out of the bed and into the bathroom like a shot. Turning on the water in the sink with the intention of washing her face she realizes she's still in her clothes from yesterday.

Swiftly turning off the water in the sink and turning it on in the shower she strips and gets into the water even though it's still a bit cold. It's not until she's about half way through her shower does she realize that she never crawled into bed. She remembers putting her head down on the table to rest her eyes for a few minutes while she worked on her paper work, but nothing after that until the alarm went off.

She finishes her shower in record time, dashes out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, only partially dry and completely without clothes. She gets dressed as fast as she can, cursing the inventor of bras the entire time and then charges into the family room and nearly trips over Brooklyn. She belatedly realizes that the pair of gargoyles must have returned to her apartment after she fell asleep and put her to bed. A brief look around the room and she spots the spare key that usually resides with Lars, explaining how the two got into her apartment.

She smiles and gently touches their stone features knowing that tonight they return to their home. She sighs and goes to collect her papers, groaning when she notices that she only made it through about half of her reports. She grabs the papers and quickly shoves them into her bag before heading into the kitchen.

She moans when she realizes that her travel mug didn't get washed and the coffee maker wasn't set up last night. She gets the coffee brewing as fast as she can and then washes the mug. Just as she's rinsing out the mug, the buzzer to the front door sounds startling her nearly out of her wits. Grabbing a towel to dry her hands, she goes over to the intercom and pushes the first button.

"Yes?" she calls, quickly pushing the second button.

"Hey, it's Elisa," Elisa replies. "Can I come up?"

"Sure," Gwen answers as she pushes the lock release button.

A quick glance at the clock and Gwen starts creatively swearing in German again. She rushes into the bedroom to get her shoes on only to realize that she has no idea where the gargoyles put them. A quick search of the apartment finds them peacefully sitting under the table.

While she's trying to cram her feet into them, there's a knock at the door and she hobbles over to it. She opens the door while balanced on one foot and starts to topple over as the door swings by. A pair of strong hands reaches out and grabs her before she can manage to land on Brooklyn. She instinctively reaches out and grabs the arms that are holding her. Once she's upright again and fairly stable, she looks up into the smiling face of one Matt Bluestone.

"You're not Elisa," she states.

"Well, I'm glad we don't need to have you're eyes checked," he laughs. "And good morning to you too."

"Oh, uh, hi," she mumbles, blushing furiously and trying to ignore how good it feels to have his hands on her. "Where's Elisa?"

"Waiting for her partner to stop pawing the doctor so she can come in," Elisa calls from somewhere behind Matt.

"Just making sure the good doctor didn't fall onto Brooklyn," he chuckles as he carefully releases Gwen.

Gwen hops over to the counter and finishes getting her shoe on as the two detectives finally make it the rest of the way into the apartment. Elisa goes and checks on the gargoyles while Matt goes into the kitchen and inhales deeply at the coffee pot. Gwen finally gets her shoe tied and then goes over and pours the coffee into her still damp mug, quickly putting the cap back on.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm really late for work," she states as she grabs her bag. "Der angsthase! I forgot to brush my teeth."

She drops her bag and carefully places the mug on the counter and then practically flies into the bathroom where the sounds of furious teeth brushing can be heard a moment later as the two detectives quietly chuckle. Gwen reemerges a few minutes later with fresh minty breath and her hair back into its traditional pony tail.

She picks up her things, snatches the spare key off of the counter and then opens the door, standing there waiting for the other two. Matt and Elisa take the hint and exit the apartment. Gwen locks the door behind her and then quickly starts trotting down the stairs, keys still in hand. She stops at Lars' door, unlocks it with her copy and puts her spare on his kitchen counter before swiftly relocking his door and now nearly running down the stairs.

She bursts out the outer door and sets a fast pace for work. Before she can get half a block she realizes she's forgotten her medical bag and runs back inside to get it. Several minutes later she's back out and trotting down the street.

"Are you done tormenting the poor woman?" Elisa asks as she leans against her car.

"I don't know," Matt muses with a smile tugging at his lips from his spot leaning against the building. "How many more times do you think she'll run back in?"

"Bluestone…," she warns.

"Alright, alright," he laughs as he pushes himself away from the wall and turns towards Gwen's retreating back. "HEY, DOC! YOU WANNA RIDE?"

For her part, she at least manages not to shriek and she only jumps half a foot into the air. She spins around and sees Matt grinning at her and Elisa just shaking her head and rolling her eyes. Gwen just stands there with a deer in the headlights look on her face as she tries to answer his question. On the one side, if she's late, Weisman will ride her back about being on time. On the other, if she arrives at work with Matt again, the rumor mill will _really_ run amuck with stories of her new 'boyfriend.'

"Come on, you," he laughs as he gently pulls on her arm and drags her towards the car. "Let's get you to work."

"Oh, uh, that's ok," she stammers as she starts to tug against his hand. "I can walk."

"I'm sure you can," he agrees as he opens the door, pulls the seat forward, climbs into the back, pulls the seat back in place and drags her into the car all without ever letting go of her. "But this way you'll get there fresh as a daisy and not a wilted flower. And trust me; I like daisies a whole lot more than wilted flowers."

He finally releases her arm and gently strokes her cheek with the back of a finger. She's not sure if she's more shocked by his brazen behavior or his shameless flattery. By the time she's recovered, Elisa's closed the passenger door, gotten behind the wheel and pulled away from the curb.

A quick glance at Matt and she can see the self satisfied smirk on his face. She looks around for something to concentrate on other than his handsome features. She just happens to be facing Elisa when the other woman flips her long hair back over her shoulder and Gwen sees marks that she sure weren't there the day before. What's even more nerve wracking is that she's fairly sure she recognizes what they are.

"What happened to your neck?" Gwen asks, leaning closer for a better look.

"Where?" Matt asks, suddenly leaning forward.

"It's nothing," Elisa hastily replies as she pulls her hair forward.

"It looks like something was biting your neck," Gwen states as she pulls the hair out of the way.

"It's nothing," Elisa insists.

"Did Goliath pay you a late night visit?" Matt teases.

"Yes," Elisa mumbles as she sinks down in her seat.

"Did Goliath make those marks with his teeth or his talons?" Gwen inquires already knowing the answer and dreading it

"His teeth," Elisa answers in a small voice, her face turning bright red as Matt falls back in his seat laughing.

"Are you out of your mind, woman?" Gwen demands shocking Elisa out of her embarrassment. "You go to the hospital with the bite of one gargoyle and then you let another one use you as a chew toy later only hours later? You do realize that you could be allergic to gargoyle saliva, don't you?"

"It's not like I asked him to do it," Elisa snaps back. "And nothing happened, so I'm not allergic to gargoyle spit."

"The drugs that they pumped into you probably prevented another attack," Gwen states, obviously less than pleased. "Next time you decide to do whatever it was you two were doing, make sure you have an EpiPen on hand. I'm fresh out."

The tension in the car becomes thick enough that one could chew on it. Elisa pulls up to a stop light and Gwen can see that they're only a couple blocks from the zoo.

"Listen, I can walk the rest of the way from here," Gwen says as she opens the door and gets out of the car. "Thanks for the ride."

Gwen runs out of the street as Matt scowls at the back of his partner's head. He can see the tension in Elisa's shoulders and her knuckles are white from gripping the steering wheel so hard. He turns to look at Gwen again and sees her nearly running down the street.

"Next time, I'm driving," he grumbles.


	14. Another Day

She stomps into her office, slamming the door shut behind her and is immediately confronted by the flowers still sitting on her desk. With a disgusted sigh, she puts her bags and mug down carefully before moving the monstrous bouquet from her desk to the floor. She retrieves her paperwork from her satchel and tries to catch up on the miserable reports before she has to go do her rounds. Her world shrinks down nothing more than her pen and the reports until a hand on her shoulder nearly frightens her out of her skin.

"You really need to switch to decaf," John chuckles as he steps away from her and she scowls at him. "Keep making that face and your face is going to stick like that."

She mumbles a few choice words at him and he laughs.

"I'm going to have to wash your mouth with soap if you keep talking like that," he warns with a big grin on his face.

She throws him another dirty look and then starts to sort the stack of completed reports. Once they're in a neat pile, she hands them to John who gives her a sassy salute. She glares at him and then gets up to go do her rounds. He follows her, dropping the reports on the secretary's desk on their way out.

"You know, if you don't get it out of your system, I'm going to have to lock you in one of the quarantine cages," he jokes as they start to head towards the clinic.

"Get what out of my system?" she asks, not bothering to look over at him.

"Whatever's eating you up," he answers, easily keeping up with her. "If you don't say something you're going to make the polar bears look like cuddly teddy bears and then I'm going to have to lock you in a cage."

She gives a sigh, stops dead in the middle of the path they're on, is silent for a few seconds and then she starts to rant in French. He hasn't a clue to what she's going on about, but it doesn't matter. As long as she vents her frustrations verbally to the world in general, she won't take it out on her coworkers. She waves her arms around as she paces around on the path and he does nothing but duck the occasional flailing limb.

"Feel better?" he asks nearly fifteen minutes later.

"Yeah, thanks," she mutters as she starts walking again. "Am I really worse then the polar bears?"

"I've seen Tasmanian Devils with kinder dispositions when you're upset about something," he honestly tells her with a smile. "Don't worry about it, now that you've told the universe what you think of it, everything should be good. Provided, of course, the universe wasn't listening."

"Thanks, I think," she chuckles and he gives her a big grin. "How do you know me so well?"

"I've worked with you since the day you got here," he reminds her. "I'm the one who works with you the most. Who could possibly know you better?"

"Lars," she states as they step into the clinic.

"Hey, how is Lars these days?" he asks. "Found himself a new beau yet?"

"He's fine and he's still single," she answers as they cross through the examination area and into the area where the sick and injured animals are kept. "I think it's good for him. He's trying too hard to be in a relationship and he keeps ending up with the wrong guys."

"And what about you?" he inquires as they stop in front of the first cage. "Any hot prospects?"

She turns a bright red as she picks up the chart on the snowy owl sitting in the cage. She stares at the paper but is unable to read it since her mind is now spinning in circles. She finally shakes herself out of it and gets down to work, ignoring his question all together. Luckily she refuses to look at him or the look on his face would have sent her running from the room as he stares at her with a burning need.

* * *

By lunch time she's ready to drop. She didn't get enough sleep, didn't have breakfast, didn't have time to make lunch and she's just emotionally drained. She pulls out a bag of trail mix that she keeps hidden in her desk for just such an emergency and starts working on her reports again.

If they'd just give her a computer this could go so much faster. Of course that would also mean that she wouldn't bring the work home and she'd have to spend even more time in this office. That's not a prospect that she would relish, though it would mean she would be able to have an email account and be able to communicate with her family more.

With a resigned sigh, she bends to her task once more, trying not to sneeze from all of the flowers in the room. She's opened the window, but there's no breeze today to help clear the room out. She disappears into her work once more and is nearly startled out of her wits by her phone ringing. Maybe John's right; maybe she does need to switch to decaf.

"This is Dr. Knight," she says into the phone.

"Hey, Gwen, it's Bob," Dr. Taylor greets from the other end of the line.

"Hi, Bob, how's it going?" she asks, glad to have an excuse to stop doing her reports.

"I'm good, I was just calling to see how our patient is doing," he answers.

"He's good," she replies. "He should be ready to have the external brace removed tonight."

"Tonight? So soon?" he asks in shock.

"Hey, I told you they were fast healers," she chuckles.

"Why tonight?" he inquires. "If they heal that fast, why not bring him in right now?"

"Because he's sleeping," she answers. "They're completely nocturnal, so you'll just have to wait until he's awake to take the rig off."

"So, we have to wait until he's up and about before we can knock him out and remove the rig," he snickers.

"Yup," she laughs.

"Ok, I have tonight off, but Kevin should be here to take care of things," he tells her. "If there are any problems or questions or anything at all, call me at home."

"Will do," she responds.

"Ok, I'll let you get back to your lunch," he says. "See you later."

"Bye, Bob," she replies, hangs up the phone and then looks at the bag of slightly stale trail mix. "Some lunch."

With a groan, she gets back to work.

* * *

Some hours later, Gwen is back at her desk once more still doing paper work. She idly wonders how many forests she's wiped out doing all of these blasted reports. She finishes the one she's working on, puts it off to the side and stretches. She leans her chair back while arching her back with her arms over her head, closing her eyes as she does so.

"You keep doing that and I'm going to do something I won't regret," a husky voice states.

She lets out a squeak of surprise as she jumps in her chair causing the already overbalanced piece of furniture to fall over backwards.

"What is it with you and trying to scare me out of a year's growth, Bluestone?" comes a snarled question from the floor.

"You've got to stop being so focused, doc," he chuckles as he comes around the desk to help her to her feet.

"I have to be focused," she grumbles as she brushes herself off while he picks up her chair. "Otherwise nothing would ever get done."

"You know what you need to do?" he asks.

"What?" she growls back as she sorts through the reports on her desk.

"You need to relax," he replies as he sits on the edge of her desk.

"I relax just fine, thank you," she tells him stiffly.

"Uh-huh, sure you do," he scoffs as she scowls at him. "I wonder, what would you do if I kissed you right now?"

"I'd probably slug you," she warns as she shoves the uncompleted forms into her bag.

"Assaulting a police officer can get you into a lot of trouble," he warns with a snicker.

"Self defense," she snaps back.

"True, but I'd still have to put the hand cuffs on you and why does that sound like a lot of fun?" he nearly purrs, casting a lustful gaze in her direction that causes her to swallow audibly.

"Hey, Gwen, do you have those reports done yet?" Tony asks from the door and Gwen could almost kiss him for the well timed rescue. "I'm sorry. Am I interrupting anything?"

"No, uh, Tony, this is Matt Bluestone," she answers as she grabs her completed forms. "Matt, this is Dr. Tony Richardson. He's the head vet here."

She tries to get around Matt since the other way is blocked by the jungle in a jar and has to step over his long legs to do so. Why do those legs have to look so good in those jeans? After she gets past him, he stands to his full height, towering over her as he extends his hand to Tony. They extend pleasantries as she takes her finished forms out to the secretary's desk.

By the time she returns, they're talking amicably and she knows what the subject of their conversations is when they both turn toward her and grin. She can feel the skin of her face heating up and it has nothing to do with forgetting to put sun block on in the morning. Without a word, she slides between the two men and retrieves her belongings.

"Going home so soon?" Tony asks with his eyebrows raised. "It's not even dark yet."

"I have some guests staying with me and they're expecting me back," she answers as she heads for the door, Matt in her wake. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Have a good night," Tony calls back as she leaves the building.

"Thanks!" she yells through the door.

She continues walking, ignoring the handsome man following her with all of her might as she waves her farewells to the coworkers she passes. John gives her a funny look when they walk by, but she ignores that as well. She gets past the security gate and starts to head for home only to have a gentle hand at her elbow steer her towards the parked cars.

"M'lady, your chariot awaits," Matt purrs in her ear and she can feel a shiver run up her spine.

"I can walk just fine," she protests as he continues to leads her across the parking lot.

"You look just about dead on your feet," he replies as they step up to a dark compact car that's something between a sports car and a sedan.

She'd argue with him but the adrenaline from her fright and anger has just about run out and she is on the verge of falling on her face. She doesn't complain when he opens the car door for her and helps her into the car. He quietly drives her home and by the time they reach her neighborhood, she's nearly asleep.

"Have you had dinner yet?" he inquires, suddenly breaking the silence.

"Huh?" she snorts in surprise, as she shocked out of a near sleep.

"Dinner, have you had it yet?" he asks again, trying not to smirk.

"No, not yet," she mumbles as she rubs her face to try and wake up.

"Good, I know a great little Mexican place around the corner," he says as he makes the turn.

"No, I can't," she yawns as she stretches.

"You don't like Mexican?" he questions as he gets ready to change lanes. "I know a pretty good Thai restraint near here."

"No," she repeats.

"Well, then where do you want to go?" he asks.

"No where," she answers. "I can't afford to go out."

"Not a problem, my treat," he replies as he finds a spot and parks the car.

"The gargoyles will be expecting me," she points out, refusing to budge.

"The sun's not due to set for another hour," he responds as he gets out of his door and nearly clobbers a passing bicyclist.

A few words are exchanged between driver and cyclist as she sits there and shakes her head. What is it with this man? Is he trying to drive her crazy? Because if he is, he's doing a damn good job of it.

Before she can reach for the door handle, he opens it for her and extends his hand to help her out. She grabs her bags before taking his hand and letting him pull her from the car. He grabs her satchel and throws it back in the car, shutting and locking the vehicle before she can protest.

"No paperwork at the dinner table," he insists. "If I'm paying for dinner, I want to see your face, not the top of your head."

"Who said I was going to do paper work?" she asks, cringing on the inside since that's exactly what she intended on doing.

"You're always doing paper work," he smirks as he starts to pull her from the car.

"Says who?" she demands, planting her feet and practically taking root.

"Says Lars and Lily," he answers.

"When did you meet Lily?" she inquires, stunned that he would know the other doctor.

"She's the one who showed me where your office was," he replies as he grabs her hand and tries to make her go again. "Do you know how long I was watching you?"

"No," she mumbles, suddenly feeling her face warm up again.

"Ten minutes," he chuckles as he finally gets her walking. "You were so oblivious to the world that you didn't hear me until you stretched."

"If I don't tune everything out I'll never get my work done," she replies as she reluctantly lets him lead her down the street.

"What is with all the paper work?" he finally asks as he opens the door to a hole in the wall restaurant.

"They're reports," she answers as she steps into the place and nearly feints from the nearly orgasmic smell of the place. "This place smells wonderful."

"And the food is as good as it smells," he tells her as he leads her over to the ordering counter.

She tries to resist, she really does. But the combination of not really eating much during the day and the fact that she hasn't had a decent Mexican meal in ages means her stomach wins the fight. She at least manages not to order the biggest thing on the menu, but it's close. After they place their order, they find a table off to the side and sit down.

"So, what are these reports that you're doing all about?" he asks, picking up the conversation where it left off.

"Every animal I come in contact with has to have a report written up," she answers, glad to have something to talk about that doesn't involve her as the subject. "For instance, one of the baby otters got something in his eye and I had to flush it out. I have to write up what animal was looked at, why it was looked at, the treatment given, where it happened, when it happened, what happened. It's actually very tedious and boring as hell, but I have to do it."

"Sounds like police work," he chuckles. "Every call we answer is followed up by reams of paper work. But I don't think even I have that much paper work."

"Well, there are hundreds of cops in New York," she points out. "But there are only three vets at the Bronx Zoo. Now while there aren't as many animals in the zoo as there are people in the city, there are still only three of us and hundreds of them."

"Why do you do it?" he inquires.

"Because I love animals, I want to heal them and make them better," she replies with a shrug. "Why do you do it? Why did you become a cop?"

"Because I want to help people, to protect them and bring the bad guys to justice," he answers as the food is brought to their table. "We're not so different, you and I. We do jobs that we love and we're both swimming in paper work.

"I don't see you with a bunch of paperwork being dragged around," she points out as she takes her burrito off of the tray.

"That's because I have the good sense to leave it at the office," he teases as he pulls his tacos towards him.

She glares at him for a second before taking a bite at her monster burrito, effectively ending the conversation. The next several minutes no words are spoken as they eat their dinners. By the time they're done, he is nearly speechless.

"I can't believe you ate all of that huge burrito," he states in shock.

"All I've had for food today has been coffee and trail mix," she states as she wipes her mouth with a napkin and leans back in her chair. "I was about ready to eat the furniture."

"I bet you could give Broadway a run for his money if you got hungry enough," he snickers.

"Thanks a lot," she huffs as she throws her wadded up napkin at him causing him to laugh at her as he bats the thing away.

"Come on, it's nearly sunset," he says as he stands up.

She follows suit and they clear their table, dumping their trash in the garbage on the way out. They return to the car and then get back to her apartment a little slower than expected due to traffic. As it is, they have to park over a block away before hiking it back to her building. They make good time up the stairs, wave at Lars as they go by and finally make it to her door. No sooner does she get the door open than a red leathery wing is shoved in her face.

"Can we please get this thing off of me now?" Brooklyn demands.

"Yes, Brooklyn, I think we can take it off," she smiles after she feels his wing. "Let's go visit Dr. Fitzgerald."

"Who's Dr. Fitzgerald and why do we have to visit him?" he demands, standing up to his full height and towering over the doctor. "Why can't we do it here?"

"Dr. Fitzgerald is another vet at the clinic and he's on duty tonight," she calmly answers. "And since the rig was put in surgically, it will have to be removed surgically."

"You're going to cut me open again?" he growls loudly and the sound of doors being hastily bolted can be heard.

"Actually, Dr. Fitzgerald will probably be the one performing the operation," she answers in a level voice.

"I don't want to go through that again," he snaps, his eyes starting to glow and Matt moves to intercede.

"I perfectly understand," she replies as she puts an arm up to block Matt. "But the choices are either under go surgery again to remove the rig or don't go through with it and never fly well again."

"What do you mean never fly well again?" he snarls softly.

"How well do you think you could fly with that thing on your wing?" she asks. "Do you think you could maintain a steady flight for any length of time?"

"No," he grumbles as his body and wings droop in defeat and she puts a gentle hand under his beak, forcing him to look up at her.

"After tonight the skies will be yours once more," she assures him.

He stares her in the eyes, but she doesn't look away. After what seems something short of forever, he pulls away and nods his head.

"Let's go visit this Dr. Fitzgerald," he mumbles as he steps into the hallway, Lex right behind him.

"Good," she smiles as she heads for the stairs. "Not that I don't like you guys, but having a life is murder on my beauty sleep."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Sorry about the delay. I had to force my muse to finish a chapter for another story that's been sitting on the back burner for a couple of weeks. So enjoy, review and I'll try to get the next chapter going as soon as possible. 


	15. Back to the Clinic

Gwen directs Lex to the roof as she relocks her door and then heads downstairs with Matt and Brooklyn behind her. They wave to Lars as they pass by his apartment door and just as she reaches the bottom of the staircase, apartment 1A's door opens. Welker stands there with a smug look on her over makeuped face another lipstick stained cigarette dangling from her lips.

"Knight, you're evicted," Welker sneers, looking like she's just won the lottery.

"Oh, really?" Gwen asks, coming to a stop at the foot of the stairs. "On what grounds?"

"Having pets," Welker smirks, taking a long drag off of her cigarette and blowing the smoke in Gwen's face. "Your lease agreement clearly states that you can't have pets."

"Funny, having a pet means ownership and the last thing in the world I would _ever_ do is insult a gargoyle by telling him that I owned him," Gwen calmly replies and she can hear Brooklyn softly growling behind her. "They were my guests and my lease agreement says I can have up to two guests for up to three nights. If you wish to pursue this matter further, I'm sure Mr. David would be _very_ interested in the ways you're supplementing your pay."

"Your rent's due," Welker snaps, spittle flying from her mouth.

"And you will have it on Friday, as per the lease agreement," Gwen smiles and then continues her journey out as Welker slams her door shut.

"How do you stand that woman?" Matt asks once they're outside. "And who's Mr. David?"

"I think of her as training for when I have kids someday," she replies as they start to head towards Matt's car. "Mr. David owns the building."

"So, you want to have kids someday, huh?" Matt chuckles as he casually drapes an arm over her shoulders.

"Yes, but that wasn't an invitation," she says with her eyes narrowed at him as she pushes off the arm. "How are you doing back there, Brooklyn?"

"Fine," he answers with a shrug as she looks over her shoulder at him. "Sick of walking everywhere."

"I can see that," she replies as she drops back to walk with him. "But just think about tomorrow night and all the great things you'll be able to do again."

"Thanks to you," Brooklyn replies and then tilts his head. "I'd like to know why though."

"I'm a doctor and it's what I do," she states.

"But what's in it for you?" Brooklyn inquires, his eyes narrowing a bit.

"You haven't been paying attention, have you?" she smiles. "I've been fascinated with you guys since Xanatos brought that castle over here. And when the rumors started about these strange beings roaming around in the night, I have to say my curiosity about drove me nuts. Then it was confirmed that the lot of you are real and heck, I would have paid Xanatos to meet you guys."

"You wanted to meet us?" Brooklyn asks in shock, standing up to his full height.

"Does that surprise you?" she asks.

"Yeah, it does," Brooklyn replies.

"That's a shame," she sighs sadly as they reach Matt's car.

"You've got to be kidding me," Brooklyn scoffs as Matt unlocks the doors with the remote. "There's no way we're going to all fit in there."

"I'm small, I'll sit in the back and you can have the front," Gwen states as she moves towards the car.

"But I need you to give me directions to the clinic," Matt tells her as he stops her from getting in.

"I can give directions from the back," she replies with a sly smile as she slips past him. "Besides, I've always wanted to be a backseat driver."

Before Matt can protest, she's in the car and Brooklyn is cramming himself into the front seat. With a disappointed sigh, Matt shuts the passenger door once the gargoyle's in and then heads to the other side of the car. Soon, they're on their way and with Gwen's directions they find themselves in the back alley behind the clinic a few minutes later.

"What are we doing back here?" Brooklyn asks, turning to look at the diminutive woman behind him.

"Do you want a repeat of what happened the other night?" she counters.

"Not particularly, no," he grumbles.

"Well, then, there you go," she smiles. "Now let's get out of the car and then Matt can go around the front and let them know we're here."

"When did I become the chauffer?" Matt asks as Brooklyn starts to get out.

"When you dragged me into your car," she answers as she follows the gargoyle out. "Just drive around the block, you'll see the front without any problems. When you go in, just tell the receptionist that Dr. Knight is waiting by the back door."

"Is there anything else madam would like?" Matt jokes as he puts the car into gear.

"World peace would be nice," she responds.

"Anything madam would like, madam will get," he laughs as she shuts the car door and he goes roaring away.

"Klugscheißer," she mumbles under her breath before heading towards the back of the clinic.

"What did you just say?" Lexington asks as he lands next to them.

"Probably nothing that needs repeatin'," Hudson states as he comes in for a landing as well.

"You must be Hudson," Gwen smiles up at the oldest member of the clan.

"Aye, that I would be, lass," Hudson nods as he gives the doctor the once over with his good eye.

"It's nice to meet you," she says. "Not that I'm not thrilled, but where's Goliath?"

"Goliath is keeping an eye on the other two," Hudson states as he folds his wings over his shoulders.

"Oh, right, the rising thing," she responds and then starts to head for the back door of the hospital. "Well, come on, it's not getting any warmer out here."

She walks off with Lex and Brooklyn right behind her, but Hudson watches her for a few moments and Lex turns to look at him.

"Is something wrong?" Lex asks.

"She's a curious one, she is," Hudson muses quietly.

"She is a bit weird even for a human, but she's nice," Lex assures him. "Come on."

Hudson reluctantly relents and follows the others. They stand outside for several minutes and Gwen is back to mentally kicking herself for not grabbing a sweater or something. Before she can decide whether or not to start doing jumping jacks or jogging in place to stay warm, Karen sticks her head out the back door.

"Hey, guys, come on in," the tech smiles as she holds the door open for them.

"Hi, Karen thanks," Gwen replies as she quickly does just that.

A moment later they're filing into the treatment area where Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald, Elisa and Matt are already waiting for them.

"Hey, Gwen, I hear you've been a busy little girl lately," Kevin smiles as he hands her a Styrofoam cup of coffee.

"How do people survive having a life outside of work?" she asks before taking a sip of the nectar of the gods. "It's exhausting."

"We manage somehow," he snickers before turning to the red gargoyle. "You must be Brooklyn. I'm Dr. Fitzgerald. I might be the one removing that rig off of your wing tonight."

"Might?" Brooklyn asks suspiciously.

"Well, we need to take another x-ray first," the doctor tells him. "Once we're sure everything is healed up, then we can go ahead with the operation."

"You said that we could get this thing off tonight," Brooklyn snarls, turning on Gwen.

"I said I _think_ we can remove it," she reminds him and gets growled at in return. "Come on, you know x-rays don't hurt, you just have to hold still for a minute. Sheesh, you're acting like I'm going to leave that thing on you forever."

"But you felt it…," Brooklyn starts to argue, lifting the wing in question.

"And I didn't feel a major gap," she interrupts. "If there's a hairline fracture, I'm not going to feel it. I doubt that there is one, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Don't you agree?"

"Fine," Brooklyn grumbles. "Let's get this over with."

"I wish all of my patients were this agreeable," Kevin muses as he signals Brooklyn to follow him. "The rest of you can hang out here; we'll be back in a few minutes."

With that, Kevin and Gwen exit the room as Brooklyn trails behind them, sulking all the way.

"You certain you want to take her out on a date?" Elisa asks Matt, staring at the door that the doctors just went through.

"Yeah, why not?" he replies with a shrug. "She's cute, she's smart and she wants to have kids some day."

"Excuse me?" she inquires, her eyebrows threatening to become one with her hairline.

"She said so herself," he smirks, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "You're just mad because she yelled at you this morning."

"I'm mad because she was right," she mumbles, crossing her arms over her chest. "I saw the doctor this afternoon and he yelled at me too. In fact, I now have to get him a supply of gargoyle saliva so they can test to see if I'm allergic or not."

"You're kidding?" he laughs but lowers his voice when she hisses at him to be quiet. "What are you going to do? Hold a cup up to Goliath and tell him to spit?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do," she softly growls, eyeing the gargoyles to make sure they're not paying attention. "But just keep this to yourself for now, ok?"

"Sure thing, partner," he assures her, still trying not to snicker over the mental image of Goliath spitting into a little cup.

She gives him one last glare before turning her attention back to Hudson and Lexington. Hudson has wandered over to a cage with a Rottweiler in it and has a talon through the bars that the dog is gladly licking. Lex is following Karen around asking about all of the equipment that's used. Fortunately, she patiently explains which one is and what it does, but she doesn't talk down to him as if he's a child. A moment later, Brooklyn returns with a slight scowl on his face.

"What's the matter?" Elisa asks.

"That table is really, really cold," Brooklyn gripes. "Plus they expect me to bend over backwards and hold still. What am I, a contorturist?"

"A what?" Matt laughs.

"You know, those people that twist themselves in all sorts of odd ways," Brooklyn explains.

"I think you mean contortionist," Elisa chuckles.

"Yeah, them," Brooklyn grumbles.

Before anymore can be said, the doors burst open as a tech comes charging in with an owl wrapped in a towel. A second later Gwen and Kevin come into the room and they immediately head for the new patient. They spend a couple minutes examining the complacent animal before they give each other worried looks.

Kevin orders x-rays for the bird as another tech comes in with a couple x-rays for Gwen. Gwen and Kevin exit the area again without a word to the others waiting there. About a minute later a tech sticks his head in the treatment area and calls for the others to follow him. A short time later they're filing into the darkened examination room that they had been in only a couple nights before and there is a pair of x-rays hanging from the light box.

"Are those Brooklyn's x-rays?" Matt asks as he takes a closer look at the films.

"Yup," Gwen confirms and Matt lets out a long low whistle.

"Wow, that must have been some doozey of a cage that fell on you, Brooklyn," Matt states as he finally turns to look at the gargoyle.

"It was the approximate size and weight of the Brooklyn Bridge," Brooklyn grumbles and the others smile at his joke.

"Well, even if it was as big as a bridge, it doesn't matter now," Gwen says, a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth.

"I'm healed?" Brooklyn asks, worry and hope evident in his voice.

"You're healed," she answers, a smile stretching her lips now. "The rigging can come off and you can go home."

"Thanks, doc," Brooklyn sighs in relief.

"My pleasure," she replies and for the first time since she's met him, she actually sees Brooklyn smile.

"The OR is being prepped now," Kevin says from his spot near the door. "In a few minutes, Brooklyn, one of the techs will come and get you so you can be prepped for surgery."

"Dr. Fitzgerald?" a tech hesitantly calls as he sticks his head in the door.

"Yes, Mike, what is it?" Kevin replies.

"Here's the x-ray for the owl," Mike says as he hands over the film.

"Thanks," Kevin says as he takes the sheet of celluloid.

Kevin goes over to the light box, pulls Brooklyn's x-rays out of the clips and stuffs the new film in their place. Gwen joins him and they look at it for a few moments.

"What do you think, doctor?" Kevin asks Gwen, not bothering to look at her.

"The neck's broken," Gwen softly answers, sadness tingeing her voice.

"Yeah, that's my assessment too," Kevin sighs. "Ok, I'll go deal with the owl; you guys hang out here for a bit."

"What happened to the owl?" Lex quietly asks after Kevin leaves.

"It was hit by a Hummer," Gwen replies in disgust as she turns on the room lights. "They didn't even stop to see if it was alright. They just kept going. The driver in the car behind the Hummer brought the owl in."

"Aren't Hummers those really big cars that can hold like a dozen people?" Lex inquires, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice and not completely succeeding.

"Yeah and a bigger waste of space and resources you'll be hard pressed to find," Gwen answers, displeasure very evident in her voice. "Listen, I need to hit the bathroom. I'll be back in a bit."

"What does she have against Hummers?" Lex wonders out loud.

"She's right," Matt states. "Hummers are a menace. I'm sure the Illuminati is involved with their popularity somehow."

"Oh, please, not the Illuminati again," Elisa groans. "I'm too tired to listen to any conspiracy theories tonight, ok?"

"Fine," Matt huffs as he heads for the door. "I think I need the bathroom too."

With that, Matt marches out the room and heads down the hall. He gets about half way down the corridor before he realizes he has no idea where the bathroom is. He wanders into the treatment area just as Kevin is taking his stethoscope out of his ears and draping it back around his neck.

"Ok, that's it," Kevin sighs sadly as he looks down at the limp form of the owl. "Have animal control come and get him in the morning."

"Yes, doctor," one of techs replies as he carefully wraps the bird up and removes it from the table, carrying into another room.

"Hey, what's up?" Kevin asks, startling Matt from watching the tech.

"Oh, I was looking for the bathroom," Matt replies.

"It's down the hall to your right," Kevin instructs.

"Thanks," Matt says before heading down the hallway.

Just before he reaches his destination, the sound of someone sniffing as if they're crying comes from one of examination rooms. Matt glances through the partially opened door and is brought up short when he sees it's Gwen in there. He gently pushes the door open and she gives a little jump, startled to be found.

Her face is splotchy and her cheeks are wet with tears. He says nothing but steps into the room, shutting the door behind him and then pulls her into his arms. She doesn't fight him, but clings to his shirt and quietly cries into his chest.

"This about the owl?" he asks her some time later, when the tears have finally run dry.

"Yeah," she sighs, not bothering to look up. "It's the one thing I hate about this job."

"There was no other choice?" he inquires.

"Once the neck's broken, the only thing left to do is give the animal one last shot," she replies into his rather damp shirt.

"But when a person breaks their neck…," he starts.

"You can explain to a person why he or she is going to spend the rest of his or her life in a wheelchair," she interrupts, finally looking up at him. "How do you explain that to an animal? Besides, it was kinder to put a wild animal out of its misery than to put it through all of the medical procedures they put people through."

"I guess you're right," he replies, giving her a small smile.

Before she can make a smart ass comeback, Kevin sticks his head in the door.

"So this is where you were hiding," Kevin states, not bothering to comment on the fact that Matt still has his arms around Gwen. "They're almost done prepping Brooklyn. You care to join us?"

"No, that's ok," she replies with a small shake of her head. "You don't need me getting underfoot in there. The sooner you get the rigging off, the sooner Brooklyn can go home."

"You sure?" Kevin asks.

"Yeah, I'm sure," she answers.

"Ok then," Kevin responds as he starts to back up. "I'll see you when I come out of OR."

"Sounds good," she replies and the door shuts a second later.

"We should probably get back before the others start wondering where we got off to," she states as she starts to push away from him.

"Do we have to?" he asks, still holding her to him despite her efforts.

"Yes, we have to," she answers, a frown wrinkling her forehead.

"I suppose you're right," he sighs as he finally relinquishes his hold on her.

She heads for the door and starts to go through it only to stop and turn around.

"Thank you, for being here with me," she says quietly.

"Any time," he replies.

She gives him a shy smile and then disappears through the door. He stands there staring at the empty doorway for some time. Even with her eyes and nose red and puffy from crying, he still thinks she's cute.

* * *

**Author's notes:** My sincerest apologies, dear readers. A combination of writer's block and the general insanity that comes from having the kids out of school for the summer was putting all of my stories on hold. But I'm back and I'm hoping to do better, but if not, please forgive me and keep in mind that if I'm not writing it's because my kids have finally driven me insane. Please make the muse happy and leave a review.

PS - This would have been up Thursday morning if the site didn't feel like frustrating the dickens out of me.


	16. Returning Home

After a quick stop at the restroom, Matt makes his way down the hall and sees the others are being led to another room. He follows them and enters the prep area just as Karen is helping Brooklyn onto the table. Brooklyn isn't saying anything, but it's obvious from the look on his face that the gargoyle isn't happy.

As Brooklyn lies back on the cold surface, Gwen squeezes past Matt into the area. The officer watches her as she takes a prepared syringe from another tech and he can see that the hair around her face is damp. Since her color is pretty much back to normal it's apparent that she washed her face before facing them again.

"Ok, Brooklyn, this is just like before," Gwen reminds the red gargoyle as she steps up to him and cleans a spot on his arm. "Let the drug do its job and don't fight it. It'll be a lot less disorienting."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Brooklyn grumbles, flinching slightly as the needles slides into his muscle. "But I still don't like how it makes me feel."

"I know," she smiles sadly as she pulls the needle out of him and then gently lays a hand on his shoulder. "It'll all be over soon, so just relax and think about tomorrow night."

"Who's going to take my stitches out?" he asks, looking at her even though the edges of his vision are already starting to get blurry.

"I'll figure out some way to get to you tomorrow night," she answers. "But even if I can't make it; the stitches will dissolve in a couple of days. They'll just itch until they are out."

"Right, itch," he mutters with a bit of a hum, as his eyelids start to droop. "Itching bad."

"Rest now," she softly instructs as her hand slips off of his shoulder. "It'll be over before you know it."

"Stay!" he demands as he roughly grabs her arm, accidentally scratching her in the process.

"Ok, I'll stay," she assures him and gives a small sigh of relief when his grip loosens slightly.

"Good," he mumbles as his eyelids become even heavier. "Friend stays."

With a contented sigh he relaxes and a couple minutes later his entire body sags as the drug completes its job and puts him to sleep. Gwen gently lifts the arm that's hanging over the side of the table and delicately lays it across his stomach. She ushers the others out of the room as the techs move in to get Brooklyn prepped for surgery.

"Are you ok?" Matt asks in concern as they step into the treatment area, eyeing the blood trickling down her arm.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she answers as she takes a closer look at her arm. "Because of the drugs, he didn't know how hard he was hurting me. He probably thought he was barely touching me. Good thing he got the arm that Angela didn't get or I might have been a little less than calm when he grabbed it. At least my bandages will match."

"Where are you going?" Matt questions as she starts to leave the room.

"I'm going to get my bag so I can get this cleaned up," she replies, looking back over her shoulder at him. "I'll be back in a bit. Just hang out here until they move him and then Elisa and Lex can show you were the observation window is."

Before Matt can offer to help, she's gone and he's left standing there with the others waiting for them to finish with Brooklyn. Several minutes later, the techs are carefully wheeling Brooklyn out of the prep area and down the hall. Elisa, Matt, Hudson and Lex follow them until the table is pushed through another set of doors into the waiting hands of the techs in the OR.

Elisa leads the others to the large window looking into the OR and they silently watch as the new set of techs finishes getting Brooklyn ready. A minute later, Gwen and Kevin appear in the hallway with him wearing his operating scrubs, her carrying a chair and fresh bandages on both forearms. Gwen wishes Kevin luck as he pushes through the OR doors and then joins the others at the window, setting the chair down next to Lex.

"Why aren't you in there, lass?" Hudson asks, looking down on the small woman. "I thought you were his doctor."

"I am, but Drs. Fitzgerald and Taylor are much better surgeons than I am and I don't normally work with hardware like this," Gwen answers, looking up at the much older being.

"So what were you doing in there the other night?" Lex questions from his perch on the chair.

"I was playing twenty-two pick up," she replies, turning her attention to the small gargoyle.

"Twenty-two pick up?" Matt inquires.

"That's how many bone fragments I picked out of Brooklyn's wing," she states as she turns her attention back to the operating room. "Dr. Taylor put the hardware in, I just watched."

Before anyone can ask anything else, the sound of a power tool being used draws everyone's eyes back to what's happening in the operating room. They watch as Kevin meticulously removes all of the hardware from Brooklyn's wing. Removing the metal bits from Brooklyn's wing takes a lot less time than putting them in did, so before they know it, Kevin is stitching up his work. Shortly after he's done suturing up the gargoyle, Kevin strips off his surgical gloves and then exits the OR.

"Man, I wish all of my patients healed that quickly," Kevin states as he pulls his mask down. "Lot less chance for complications."

"Then the lad will be alright then?" Hudson asks.

"You'll have to ask Gwen to be sure, but if he continues to heal like he's been doing, he'll be fine," Kevin answers. "I'm going to go get cleaned up. They should be bringing him out soon."

Kevin leaves and the others turn towards Gwen.

"As long as no one else drops anything else on that wing, he'll be fine," Gwen assures them. "We can wait for him in the recovery room."

When they enter the recovery area, they can see that someone has already laid the mat out on the floor for Brooklyn. A couple minutes later, a couple techs push a gurney through the double doors with familiar red figure on it. Gwen helps the techs lower him onto the mat and once he's settled with the warm air blanket on top of him, she sits down next to his head.

"You sure you want to sit there?" Lex asks, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth as he sits down on the other side of Brooklyn's head from her. "You remember what happened last time."

"What happened last time?" Hudson inquires.

"Brooklyn landed on me," Gwen answers with a little chuckle.

"Are you alright, lass?" Hudson asks in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she smiles. "Just got the wind knocked out of me is all."

"Didn't you say something about it being the most fun you've had with a male in a long time?" Lex questions.

"Oh really?" Matt asks, his eyebrows threatening to become one with hairline.

Gwen doesn't answer as she stares back at Brooklyn while she turns almost as red as her patient. Matt gets the biggest grin on his face while Elisa casts him a withering glare. Lex gives Gwen an apologetic look while Hudson just looks confused.

"How's our patient doing?" Kevin asks as he steps into the room, totally oblivious to what's just happened.

"He's fine, though he hasn't started to come around yet," Gwen replies as she peels up an eyelid. "It took a little while the other night too, so I'm not worried."

"Ok, that's good," Kevin states with a nod. "If you need anything else, just let me know."

"Will do," Gwen assures him. "Thanks, Kevin."

"Any time," Kevin smiles as he turns back through the door and goes back to his regular patients.

No sooner does the door shut than Brooklyn twitches and lets out a little groan. The others turn their attention back to their friend and wait expectantly. It's another minute before he gives a snort and Gwen checks his eyes again.

Over the next fifteen, Brooklyn slowly fights off the anesthetic until he's at least able to respond to people when they talk to him, though his answers aren't very coherent. It takes another fifteen minutes to get him up onto his feet, but he needs to be supported by Hudson and Matt at first. It's not until he's able to stand on his own, all be it he's moving like he's drunk, does Gwen instruct Elisa to go get her car.

A short time later, Gwen and Matt are helping Brooklyn out the back to the alleyway while Hudson and Lex climb to a rooftop. Gwen bounces on the balls of her feet to try and stay warm as they wait for Elisa. She's startled by an overcoat suddenly settling around her shoulders and she turns to see Matt smiling down on her as he makes a couple final adjustments to make sure the coat won't fall off before returning to his spot on the other side of Brooklyn.

"He likes you," Brooklyn says in a stage whisper, leaning over to her ear.

Brooklyn's sudden movement causes him to start falling over towards her, forcing her to try and catch him. Fortunately, Matt catches Brooklyn by the arm and helps right the gargoyle before he can land on top of the doctor again. Gwen glances at Matt as they get Brooklyn steady again and if the smirk on his face is any indicator, the detective had no problem hearing what the gargoyle said.

Gwen is fairly sure her face is glowing in the dark when Elisa finally shows up. One glance at the doctor tells Elisa almost everything and all she can do is roll her eyes and shakes her head. Elisa helps the other two get Brooklyn into the backseat of her car and then heads back over to the driver's side.

"Make sure he doesn't try any flying tonight," Gwen instructs. "He's going to be groggy for quite some time and I don't want to take any chances. Tell the others to sit on him if they have to, but be careful of his wing. There are holes in the bone from the pins that were taken out, so they're still a little weak."

"Will do, doc," Elisa assures her before sliding behind the wheel and taking off.

They watch the back of Elisa's car until she turns a corner. Then they glance up and see a pair of shadows leap off of a nearby building and silently glide away.

"I guess it's time to get you home," Matt states as they start for the clinic. "Or we could go out for a drink."

"I don't drink," she hastily replies, starting to mildly panic when she realizes that she's in a dark alley alone with this man. "And you don't have to drive me back to my apartment. I can walk from here."

"I've seen your neighborhood," he reminds her as they get to the back door and he holds it open for her. "There's no way I'm letting you walk home by yourself."

"Really, you don't have to," she weakly replies, not sure whether or not she's glad that he wants to drive her home.

"What kind of cad do you take me for?" he asks with a smile and then quickly frowns. "On second thought, don't answer that."

She can't help herself when she chuckles as she heads through the hospital towards the room with her bags in it. Before she has a chance to even touch her things, he grabs them and heads out to the front of the building. She has no choice but to follow him out to his car where he refuses to give them back until they are both seated in the vehicle.

A few short minutes later he's parking in front of a fire hydrant near her building. In the short amount of time that they've been on the road, she's started to doze off, the excitement of the past few nights finally catching up with her. She jerks awake when he opens the door for her and blushes with embarrassment when she realizes what has happened.

He barely contains his smile as he helps her from the car and to the front door. Before she can retrieve her keys from her bag, the door is roughly pulled open. Gwen and Matt blink a few times at the bright light until they realize it's Lars silhouette standing in the doorway.

"Thanks goodness your home," Lars exclaims in relief. "Kevin just called a minute ago saying that you looked to be dead to the world."

"Would you believe she wanted to walk home?" Matt asks.

"Typical," Lars huffs with his hands on his hips. "I want you to march right upstairs and get to bed young lady. You need to get rest if you're going to be ready to take care of all those animals tomorrow."

"When'd you become my mother?" Gwen demands, getting a bit peeved by these two.

"When I found out your own mother isn't here to do it," Lars shoots right back. "Now say your goodnights, and get upstairs."

With that, Lars steps back through the door, shutting it most of the way, but not latching it.

"Well, at least he gave us a little privacy before he tucks you in for the night," Matt chuckles noticing Gwen's face become even redder than before.

"Thanks for the ride and for dinner and for lending me your coat," Gwen says as she hastily hands back his coat and makes a rush for the door.

"Not so fast, little missy," Matt gently admonishes as he reaches out and grabs her hand, pulling her up short. "Is that any way to truly thank the man who saved you from coming home in the dark by yourself into a dangerous neighborhood?"

"It's not that dangerous," she weakly protests as he backs her into the wall.

"Dangerous enough," he whispers in her ear before kissing her cheek. "Until next time, my fair lady."

He quickly steps back, gives her a bow and then turns, swiftly returning to his car. She watches him go, still feeling his kiss on her cheek and she can feel her heart pounding against her rips. She's not sure how long she's standing there before Lars carefully cracks the door open and peeks out.

"Is he gone?" Lars asks in a loud whisper.

"Uh-huh," she replies, still too stunned to respond coherently.

"Than what are you doing out there?" he demands as he throws the door open. "Are you trying to catch your death cold?"

"Huh?" she smartly replies.

"That must have been some goodnight kiss," he chuckles.

"He only kissed my cheek," she finally responds, lightly touching the spot with her fingertips.

"If you're acting like this from just a kiss on the cheek, than I can't wait to see what happens when he kisses you on the lips," he laughs and then quickly sobers. "On second thought, maybe I don't."

"You're not helping," she growls as she pushes past him. "The last thing I need in my life now is a man to complicate it."

"If you don't want him, can I have him?" he asks as she marches up the stairs.

"Why don't you ask him?" she calls back and then stops to lean over the railing, looking down on her friend. "Better yet, you can go out with him on Friday so I don't have to figure out how to turn him down."

"As much as I'd love to, I don't think that'd be a good idea," he replies as he starts to follow her up the steps. "He'd probably be less than pleased to see me. I've seen his gun and it's really big."

"Hey, you're the one who wants him and I'm handing him to you on a silver platter," she shoots back as she continues on her journey.

"And as much as I'd love to have a date this Friday night, you need it more," he states as he continues to follow her up to her floor.

"Excuse me?" she snaps, stopping dead in her tracks and glaring at him.

"Sugar, you know I love you like my own sister and I only want you to be happy, but you need to get out more," he replies, not the least bit put off the look on her face.

"I don't need a man to make my life complete," she snarls, her eyes narrowing.

"You're right, you don't," he agrees while she starts to fish around in her bag for her keys. "However, wouldn't it be nice to have a warm body to come home to instead of a cold apartment?"

"If I want a warm body to come home to, I'll move and get a cat," she retorts as she retrieves her keys.

"At least it would be a start," he mutters and she casts him a withering glare. "Take it from someone who's been around the block a few too many times, there's more to life than work. What do you hope to accomplish with nearly working yourself to death anyways?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but if you must know, I'm paying off my student loans," she snaps as she turns and starts to unlock her door.

"I know that, but what are you going to do when you've paid them all off?" he inquires as she opens her door.

"I'm going to go home," she softly answers and then shuts her door.

The sad longing in her voice makes him tear up and it suddenly dawns on him that he is the closest thing she has to a family in New York. Determined to make sure what few months she plans to spend in the United States not to be lonely ones, he heads down stairs to his apartment and then starts to go through his list of friends with dresses.

* * *

She quietly closes and locks the door, her emotions in complete turmoil as she goes into her room and puts away her medical bag. With her mind elsewhere, she goes on automatic pilot and heads into the kitchen to make herself something to eat. She opens the fridge and is abruptly reminded that she hasn't gone shopping lately.

With a sigh of disgust and resignation, she closes the door and goes to take a shower. Once she's cleaned, dried and dressed, she reopens her safe and takes out her album of pictures from home. Homesickness fills her heart as she looks at the faces of friends and loved ones that she hasn't seen in years. With a heavy heart, she cries herself to sleep.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Well what do you know? I haven't fallen off the face of the planet. My apologies for taking so long. Summer vacation is here, so more time with the kids means less time with the computer. Of course it doesn't help when my muse keeps throwing ideas for different stories at me instead of coming up with ideas for the ones I'm working on. I tell you, it's enough to drive one to drink. At any rate, please leave a review and maybe we can convince my fickle muse of writing to give us another chapter. 


	17. Another Visit

After making sure Elisa and Brooklyn safely make it back to the castle, Lex and Hudson land and are immediately greeted by a lonely Bronx. Lex gladly scratches Bronx in all the right places, happy to be home and back with his clan. He's so busy giving Bronx all of the attention that he craves that he almost doesn't hear the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Lexintoon," a happy little voice cries out.

"Hey, Alex!" Lex cheerfully greets, turning as the child toddles up to him. "How are you, buddy?"

Lex catches the little one as he trips and starts to fall, gladly pulling him into a hug. Bronx comes over and sniffs at Alex's hair causing the boy to giggle. Alex lets go of Lex's neck and then immediately falls onto Bronx, giving the hound's front leg a hug.

"Doggie!" Alex squeals in delight.

Bronx makes a few curious noises as he continues to sniff at the child and the boy giggles some more. The sound of a feminine chuckle causes the gargoyles to look up and see Fox staring down at them, amusement clearly written on her face.

"Ok, little man, you've gotten to say 'hello' to Lex, now it's time for bed," she says gently as she picks up her son.

"No bed," Alex protests, struggling in his mother's arms. "Lexintoon."

"Yes, young man, it's bed time," she patiently replies as she starts to head back inside with the small squirming body in her arms.

"NO! NO BED!" Alex shrieks, fighting even harder as they move away from the gargoyles.

"How about I read you a bed time story," Lex suggests as he follows the humans back into the castle.

"Lexintoon," Alex cries, reaching for his friend as his mother continues her journey.

"That would be wonderful," Fox sighs with relief as Alex stops struggling as hard as before, though he is still wiggling around.

A while later, Alex is in his pajamas and tucked into bed with Lex perched on a stool next to him reading to him Where the Wild Things Are. By the time Lex finishes reading, Alex is sound asleep. Lex climbs down off of the stool and quietly exits the room where Fox is waiting for him.

"Thanks, Lex," she whispers as she quickly checks in on her son. "It's been nearly impossible to get him to go to bed the past couple of nights with you gone. He's really missed you."

"I missed him too," he admits and then stares at the woman for a few moments. "Can I ask a favor of you?"

"Sure," she answers as she shuts the bedroom door. "What do you need?"

* * *

Sometime later, Lex finds Hudson, Bronx and Brooklyn in the TV room watching a late night movie. Lex looks over at Brooklyn and sees that he's still a bit groggy, but other than that he seems fine. So the small yellow gargoyle settles down next to his clan mates and watches **The Creature from the Black Lagoon** with them.

When the early morning news comes on, they know it's time to return to their roosts and so they file out of the room and back out into the cool open air. As they're settling into their normal spots, they see Angela and Broadway return, both looking very ragged. The couple lands on one of the farthest towers from them and the younger gargoyles turn towards their elder.

"What are they doing way over there?" Lex asks.

"They still have one more night, lad," Hudson explains. "It's best that they be stayin' far away from the rest of us for now. Come sunset, you two need to make sure you keep out of their way."

"Fine with me," Brooklyn grumbles as he scans the skies that are so close yet so far away from him. "Where's Goliath?"

"That is an interestin' question, lad," Hudson responds as he casts his gaze to the brightening sky. "I hope he found a safe place to sleep for the day."

The other two nod their agreement as the first rays of the sun put them to sleep.

* * *

Elisa wakes to a muffled thumping sound coming from the direction of her living room and a brief glance at the clock shows that it's only a little after 5:00am. As quietly as she can, she pulls open her nightstand drawer, unlocks the box in there and pulls out her gun. She silently gets out of bed and tiptoes to the door, carefully peaking out.

An extremely large, very familiar looking shadow stands on her balcony and almost soundlessly opens the sliding glass door. With a slightly frustrated sigh, she returns her gun to its box, locking it and stashing the key back under the lamp on the nightstand before returning to the living room, flicking on the entryway light switch as she goes.

"You know, Goliath, if you keep sneaking into my apartment at all hours people are going to start talking," she teases as steps down into her living room.

Her only response is a low grunt as he closes the door and turns towards her. The lighting is poor and all she can see is his moving silhouette as he takes a few steps towards her and then goes down on one knee with a moan.

"Goliath!" she yells as she rushes to his side and tries to help him.

She knows she doesn't have a prayer of picking him up should he completely go down, but she grabs his shoulders anyways. Her hands immediately slip off as something hot, wet and sticky makes it impossible for her to get a grip on him. She quickly reaches over to a nearby lamp and turns it on after several slippery tries.

She gasps when she gets a good look at him and she briefly looks down to see blood covering her hands. His body is crisscrossed with a myriad of what appear to be claw and teeth marks, most of them oozing with his blood. He looks at her with tired eyes, still breathing a bit heavily as if he's flown a million miles to get to her.

"My god, Goliath, what happened?" she asks in horror.

"Demona wasn't so easily dissuaded this time," he groans as he lowers himself all the way to the floor, wincing in pain.

"Let's get you cleaned up," she suggests as she heads for the bathroom. "Maybe we Gwen can sow up anything really bad. I can go and get her if I have to."

"No need," he whispers with effort. "It's almost dawn."

"Why didn't you head for the castle then?" she questions as she gets a towel wet.

"You were closer," he answers quietly. "Wanted to see you."

She doesn't know how to respond to that, so she doesn't. Instead she starts to clean up the blood that's smeared all over his body, being extra careful around any of the nastier wounds. When she finally gets the nerve up to look him in the face, he's staring intently at her and she can feel her face get hot. As she starts to drop her gaze again, she notices what appears to be a blanket tied around his neck.

"What's that?" she inquires, pointing at the thing.

"It something Hudson suggested I use," he states as he slowly reaches up to start undoing the knots holding the thing in place, but he's so tired he only fumbles with it until she helps him. "It's an old blanket to protect my neck. It made keeping an eye on Demona difficult while we were fighting, but it kept her from biting my neck."

"What's the big deal if she bites your neck?" she asks as the cloth falls loose into her hands and she can see the rips and tears throughout the blanket.

"When gargoyles mate, they get very…aggressive," he replies hesitantly.

"Do tell," she softly grumbles quietly, briefly glancing down to her left arm.

"The neck is a very sensitive area," he continues to explain. "If Demona had succeeded in biting me on the neck…"

"You would have mated with her," she finishes for him moments later as things start to click into place. "Demona didn't bite me on the arm to get rid of me, she was trying to get to you and I just happened to be in the way. Wasn't I? That's why you were biting me on the neck last night too, wasn't it?"

"Yes," he sadly sighs, bowing his head in shame. "On both counts."

"If Angela is any clue, female gargoyles aren't exactly thinking straight when they mate, are they?" she questions as she goes back to cleaning him up.

"No, they aren't," he answers, still staring at the floor.

"And I'm guessing the males are only slightly less crazy," she concludes as she wipes off some dried on blood.

"Only just," he agrees.

"So the only reason you and I nearly…," she starts, not able to bring herself to say it. "…is because of Demona and Angela rising to mate."

"Yes," he sadly admits. "I shouldn't have come here last night. I nearly forced you to…"

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I wouldn't have objected in the morning?" she gently asks, as she carefully guides his face to look at her.

The shocked look on his face is very gratifying, especially since the first rays of dawn insure that it will stay there until night fall. She chuckles lightly as she kisses the cold stone lips before going to clean up the blood he left all over the place.

* * *

Gwen wakes and stretches with the first buzzing of the alarm clock. She feels a more refreshed then she's had in a long time since she got a decent night's sleep for a change and she lounges in bed for a few minutes, enjoying the feeling of being well rested. She remembers last night and how Brooklyn had called her 'friend' and that makes her smile.

With a contented sigh, she rolls over and lands on something hard. She quickly moves off of the object and with a bit of difficulty, pulls it out. It's the photo album from home and her good mood instantly plummets.

With a sad sigh, she climbs out of bed, returns her memories to her safe and then she goes to get ready for work. She moves around the apartment on automatic pilot, not truly aware of what she's doing. It's not until she's heading out of the building that reality comes crashing back down around her as apartment 1A's door suddenly opens with a bang.

"Knight!" Welker barks, standing there in her usual ratty robe and curlers. "Your rent's due!"

"Not until tomorrow it's not," Gwen snaps back.

The two women glare at each other until Welker finally slams her door shut and after scowling at the closed door for a few more seconds for good measure, Gwen finally walks out of the building. She's not sure if she's relieved or disappointed when there's no sign of Matt hanging around her front door. With an almost nonexistent shrug, she walks to work like she's been doing for three years. When she gets there, she sets out to have a day like almost every day in her life.

* * *

"Are you ok?" John asks from Gwen's office door, startling her slightly.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," she lies as she quickly starts shuffling her reports around.

"Uh-huh," he grunts, staring at her as she tries to look like she's busy even though when he came in she was staring into space, tapping her pen on her desk. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, I'm just doing my reports," she answers, not looking up at him.

"Gwen, I've known you since the day you got here and I think at this point in time I know you well enough to know something is up," John states as he steps into her office and closes the door behind him. "You never leave early, yet all week you've actually been leaving at a reasonable hour. Maybe having a man in your life now is actually turning you into a real person instead of a workaholic."

"What man in my life?" she demands, suddenly looking up and staring at her assistant in surprise.

"The one people have seen dropping you off and picking you up from work," he replies blandly, all emotion removed from his voice. "And kissing you."

"Oh, for heaven's sake," she growls. "He's a friend of a friend and he only kissed the back of my hand. I've been helping a friend out the past few nights and that's why I've been leaving early. After tonight everything will be back to normal."

"So, who is this guy?" he asks a little too casually as he sits on the edge of her desk. "What's his name? What does he do for a living?"

"Like I said, he's just a friend of a friend," she answers irritably. "What are you? My father?"

"Just a concerned friend that doesn't want to see you get hurt," he replies as calmly as he can.

"I'm a big girl now, I can take care of myself, thanks," she snaps, getting very irritated.

"Ok! Fine!" he snaps back, practically launching himself off of his perch and roughly pulling the door open, finally reigning in his ire just before he leaves. "I'm just worried is all. I'll see you tomorrow."

He exits the office, softly shuting the door behind him and she throws her pen at the closed portal. She drops her face into her hands and takes a ragged breath, not sure what's come over her. She glances at the picture of her parents and brothers that sits on her desk and she can feel the depression welling up again. She lowers her arms onto the desk and lays her head atop of them before having a good cry.

* * *

A couple hours later finds Gwen still at her desk catching up on her paperwork. A soft knock at her door does nothing to interrupt the doctor's concentration and a cleared throat garners the same result as the knock. It's not until a hand is waved in front of her face does she finally look up, startled, at Tony who has a rather bemused look on his face.

"Oh, hi, Tony," she says, still blinking in surprise. "Is there something wrong with one of the animals?"

"No, the animals are fine," he chuckles. "However, there's a red helicopter with 'Xanatos' written on the side waiting for you at the Southern Ave. parking lot."

"Oh," she quietly replies, quickly trying to find a way to explain why Xanatos would be sending a helicopter to pick her up.

"I talked to Dr. Taylor earlier," he casually mentions, still looking amused. "It seems you brought him a very interesting patient the other night. You better get going. I imagine Brooklyn won't wait long after wakes up to spread his wings."

"I guess you're right," she chuckles while she starts to organize her reports. "Can you imagine what it must be like for him? To have the wind beneath your wings your entire life and then have it suddenly snatched away from you. I imagine he's about ready to go nuts."

"I imagine so," he agrees as he watches her.

She stuffs the unfinished reports in her bag and the rest are not so neatly put into a pile. She gathers her things before heading out and he makes way as she hurries past him. She dumps the reports onto the secretary's desk and quickly exits the building only pausing long enough to wave 'goodbye' to Tony. He chuckles in amusement at the young woman's energy and enthusiasm for her patients before collecting his own things and heading home.

* * *

A short time later, Gwen is hurrying past a couple security guys towards the helicopter and one of them reaches out and grabs her arm. She's brought up short and looks over at the man in shock as he glares back at her.

"Hey! This isn't your personal helipad," he growls at her.

"I didn't tell it to land here," she protests as she tries to pull her arm free.

"Is there a problem here, gentlemen?" Xanatos asks congenially and Gwen's actually glad to see the man.

"This isn't your personal helipad, buddy," the security guard snaps at Xanatos. "You can go tell your boss that he can't just have his lackey's landing that thing wherever it darn well pleases them."

"I'll be sure to tell him that," Xanatos replies with a smirk. "Now if you don't mind, my 'boss' has need of Dr. Knight's services."

"Fine," the guard snarls as he pushes Gwen towards Xanatos. "Just don't let this happen again or I'm calling the police and the FAA."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Xanatos says as he neatly catches Gwen before she can fall on her face. "Good evening, gentlemen."

Without another word, Xanatos escorts Gwen to the helicopter and helps her in. Just as she finishes strapping in, he climbs in on his side and starts the preflight checks. She watches the guards glaring at them through the windshield as Xanatos takes his time starting the chopper.

"Does it really take this long to start one of these things or are you deliberately taking your time to torment these guys?" she asks in a strained voice as she puts on her headset.

"Sorry," Xanatos smiles as he flips a switch causing the engine to kick in and the blades start to spin before putting on his own headset. "Fox told me that you weren't found of this method of travel."

"Which makes me wonder why you decided to do this to me again," she responds, her voice rising in pitch as the machine starts to vibrate.

"It was the more expedite method of travel to get you back to the castle," he answers calmly as he starts to lift the whirly bird into the air.

Her only response is a squeak as they start to rise above the trees and a few moments later they're flying over the high rises and sky scrapers of Long Island. After what seems to be an eternity, but is in fact maybe fifteen minutes, the helicopter lands on Wyvern Castle. Shakily, Gwen undoes her seatbelt and returns the headset to its proper place before nearly falling out of the craft. The second her feet are safely on the ground again, she's confronted with Owen and the hairs on the back of her neck stand up again.

"Please follow me, Dr. Knight," Owen instructs before turning and walking away, not even bothering to wait for an answer.

Seeing as she has no choice, she follows the tall man as best she can despite having much shorter legs that haven't quite recovered from the helicopter ride. She trots along behind Owen, glancing around at the wonders of a castle she's only ever read about. She's so involved with looking at the amazing job that was done restoring the place that's she's not really paying attention to where she's going and she slams right into the back of Owen when he stops.

She jumps back as if she's run into a live wire and just about every hair on her body is standing on end. A massive shiver runs down her body and she has to lean against a wall to stay upright. When she finally manages to look up at Owen, he's staring back at her with a frown of disapproval on his face.

"Sorry," she says, managing a weak smile.

"Your patient, doctor," Owen states, waving a hand towards the four stone gargoyles that have yet to awake.

"Thanks," she replies and he quickly vacates the area, passing her as he does so.

Another shiver runs down her spine and she swears that her goose bumps have goose bumps. She watches his retreating back and tries to figure that guy out. She hasn't had feelings like that since…but her train of thought is interrupted by the sound of stone cracking.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **My apologies for taking so long with this chapter. School's out so life's been a little more hectic than normal. Hopefully when school starts I'll be able to write more, but I'm not making any promises since with my luck everything will go to hell in a hand basket if I do.. I hope you enjoyed and please leave a review. 


	18. Doctor's Visit

She instinctively ducks as stone shards fly through the air while their roars fill the night. When she opens her eyes and lowers her arm after everything stills, she sees Brooklyn on the verge of taking off.

"Don't even think about it," she warns causing the red gargoyle to pause.

He glances over his shoulder and upon seeing Gwen behind him; he gets a guilty look upon his face. She raises an eyebrow at him and he meekly steps off of his perch. She crooks a finger at him before turning and heading back the way she'd come to where there is better lighting.

An angry shriek rips through the night and Gwen suddenly finds herself slammed against a wall. She's briefly stunned and when she's able to gather her wits about her, she can hear the animalistic screams and roars of fighting gargoyles nearby. She opens her eyes and is a bit shocked to see that Brooklyn has her pinned against the wall. He's using his body as a shield, but the look on his face gives her pause. His eyes are squeezed shut and a grimace is on his face as if he's in great emotional pain. His body is trembling and a quick glance up shows her that his talons are digging into the stone wall. A second later she catches a whiff of a strong musky scent and she's got a pretty good idea at what's going on.

Instinct taking over, she reaches up, gently grabs the back of his head and pulls him down until his face is against her shoulder. She can feel his hot breath on her neck and she pulls the band holding her hair out. She spreads out her tresses to form a type of filter so less of the pheromones reach his nose. They stay that way until, with a final shriek from Angela and a challenging bellow from Broadway, the night suddenly goes still.

She quickly releases Brooklyn's head and he shakily steps away from her. She quickly looks around as soon as she's clear of Brooklyn's body. The scene that greets her isn't a happy one and her training instantly takes over.

Scene change 

Elisa stands back as small pieces of stone fly about her apartment and then turns down the TV once he's done waking with a roar. She's glad she doesn't have a roommate that she'd have to explain all the bits of stone lying around or the loud noises to. After turning the TV off, she turns to him and is rather startled to find him standing right next to her.

It still amazes her how a being so big can move so quietly, but she doesn't let it bother her as she looks up into his eyes. He gently runs his talons through her soft hair and she lays a hand on his muscular chest, feeling his heart beating under her hand. They stand there like that for what seems to be an eternity, though it's only for a few moments.

"I should check on Brooklyn," he quietly states, not bothering to move towards the door.

"He went back to the castle last night," she tells him. "Gwen is supposed to come and remove his stitches tonight."

"Shouldn't you be getting to work?" he asks.

"I have tonight off," she answers.

Neither one of them moves for several more minutes until, with a sigh, he caresses her face and then turns.

"I need to get back," he says as he steps away.

"Let me grab my jacket and I'll go with you," she responds as she turns towards the front door.

"I'll wait for you on the balcony," he replies as they briefly part ways.

A minute later she's joining him in the fresh air and shutting the door behind her. Without a word, he lifts her into his arm, spreads his wings and leaps into the air. The adrenaline rush causes her heart to start pounding and she doesn't think she'll ever get tired of the rush it gives her to be in his arms like this.

A few minutes later, the castle is in sight and they can see Angela and Broadway soaring away from it. They circle around until the find the others and what they see is not a pleasant sight.

Scene change 

Bronx and Hudson are leaning over a small yellow form that's not moving. Gwen none to gently pushes them out of the way to get to Lex, causing the still conscious gargoyle's eyes to start glowing. She ignores them as she starts to examine Lex and Bronx begins growling while he moves threateningly towards her, making her look up at the hound.

"Sit!" she commands, staring Bronx down.

He's so startled by the order that he actually obeys her. Before he can gather his wits and change his mind, Hudson places a calming hand on the hound's head, placating him. She ignores them as she carefully checks Lex's skull and back for any obvious damage. When she's fairly sure moving him won't cause any further hurt, she delicately rolls Lex onto his back and gets her first look at his wounds.

Four gashes span his chest from his shoulder to the bottom of his ribs and there's blood everywhere. She doesn't waste time explaining what she's doing as she grabs her black bag and pops it open. As she's pulling items out of her bag, the sound of wind rushing past wings and talons scraping against stone announces the arrival of a gargoyle.

"What happened?" Goliath demands as he steps up behind Gwen.

"Broadway and Angela," Hudson simply answers and Goliath growls out a sigh.

"What do you need, Doctor?" Xanatos asks, stepping out of a dark doorway.

"Space, clean towels and better lighting," she replies as she pulls on latex gloves.

Xanatos doesn't say anything but disappears back through the door a second later and Goliath backs up to give her room. As she's pouring disinfectant over the unconscious gargoyle's chest, Owen arrives with a portable lamp and a stack of neatly folded towels. Ignoring the hairs standing up on her arm, she grabs the top towel and starts wiping off the blood. She carefully inspects the edges of the gashes and the depth before turning back to her bag.

"Well?" Goliath impatiently demands.

"The good news is that he won't need stitches," she answers without looking up.

"And the bad news?" Brooklyn inquires.

"He's grounded for the night," she responds as she pulls a small box out of her bag.

Nothing more is said as she uses small medical adhesive strips to hold the edges of the cuts together. As she's covering his chest with several large pads of gauze, Lex lets out a pain filled moan. He blinks his eyes open and stares at the doctor in a daze as she applies the last strips of medical tape.

"Lex, move your toes for me, please," she requests and he easily complies, though he's still to addle brained to ask why. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Two," he answers as a small scowl creases his brow. "Though, they're a bit fuzzy."

"That's ok," she smiles in relief as she sits back. "By tomorrow night you'll be as good as new. But until then, I'm afraid you're grounded."

She helps him to his feet and holds him steady until she's sure that he's stable. She carefully watches him as he less than gracefully makes his way to his waiting clan mates. Once he's leaning rather heavily on Bronx, she stands and catches Brooklyn's attention.

"Your turn," she tells him as she strips off her bloody gloves.

Without a second thought, he walks up to her and presents his newly healed wing. She quickly checks the wing to make sure the holes in the bones have healed and then retrieves tweezers and a small pair of scissors from her bag. She angles the wing under the lamp that Owen is holding before she starts removing the stitches. Within a few minutes she's done and putting her equipment away.

"Ok, you're all done," she states as she closes her bag. "Would you mind flying for me? I want to make sure everything is ok."

"Sure!" he gleefully agrees and he immediately runs for one of the outside walls.

A moment later, he's over the side and they can hear the snap of his leathery wings just after he drops out of sight. A second later he glides back into view and he lets out a whoop of joy as he soars over their heads.

"How does the wing feel?" she yells.

"Great!" he hollers back as he loops around a tower.

The others laugh at his infectious enthusiasm as he performs an aerial maneuver that would make a stunt pilot green with envy. A few minutes later he lands in front of her, a grin stretching across his beak and her answering smile is nearly as wide.

"Thanks, Gwen," he says whole heartedly.

"It was my pleasure," she happily replies.

"We are all in your debt," Goliath adds, stepping up to them.

"Aye, that we are, lass," Hudson agrees, joining their leader.

"You've been great," Lex puts in, adding his body to the circle of gargoyles surrounding the small woman.

"I'm glad I was able to help," she responds, bowing her head so her hair can cover her blushing as Bronx comes up and rubs his head against her, nearly knocking her over in the process.

"I must say that I'm impressed, lass," Hudson says as she starts to scratch Bronx along his jaw, causing the animal to hum with happiness. "Most people are frightened of the beast, but here you are scratching him and orderin' him to 'sit'."

"You ordered Bronx to sit?" Elisa asks in shock and Gwen finally notices the detective is there.

"I grew up around Bull Mastiffs," Gwen replies with a shrug as she keeps on scratching Bronx's head and he looks like he's about to collapse with pleasure as Gwen finds just the right spot to scratch. "Sometimes you can startle them into behaving when they start getting aggressive."

"Wish I had tried that when I first met Bronx," Elisa mumbles under her breath.

"You would have had to stay _on_ the castle first," Goliath reminds her, causing Elisa to blush slightly and the others to look at them a bit confused.

"Lexintoon," a little voice happily cries out, effectively stopping any embarrassing questions.

"Alex!" Lex cheerfully replies, stepping towards the toddling child.

Alex happily throws himself into Lex's outstretched arms and while the gargoyle doesn't make a sound, he noticeably grimaces when the boy makes contact with his chest. Gwen cringes for both sympathy for the pain he must be in and the possibility of him starting to bleed again.

"Ok, son, you got to see Lexington," Xantos chuckles at the child as he gently pulls his son off of Lex. "Now it's time for bed."

"No bed!" Alex proclaims as he reaches for Lex. "Lexintoon!"

"Hold on, buddy, I'll come with you," Lex assures Alex. "Would you like me to read a story to you?"

"YEAH!" Alex gleefully yells, bouncing up and down in his father's arms. "WEAD STOWY! WEAD STOWY!"

Xanatos struggles to hold onto his squirming son as he turns towards Gwen.

"Owen will drive you home when you're ready to leave, Dr. Knight," the billionaire tells the doctor. "He'll meet you at the elevators when you're ready to go. If the gargoyles don't mind, please feel free to return and visit whenever you like."

"Of course," Goliath readily agrees. "You will always be welcome in our home, Gwen."

"Thank you," Gwen whispers, stunned beyond words.

"Come back and visit soon," Lex requests, a pleading look on his face.

"Yeah, you have to come back and tell us how your date with Matt went," Brooklyn adds, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Oh, god, I had forgotten about that," Gwen groans, her face turning bright red while she desperately looks around for Elisa. "Elisa, could you tell Matt that I can't…"

"No way," Elisa interrupts. "I have to the work with the man and there's no way I'm going to tell him his date's canceled."

"Do you at least have his phone number?" Gwen meekly requests.

"Yes, I do," Elisa replies. "But I'm not giving it to you."

"But why?" Gwen asks in shock and horror.

"Like I said, I have to work with him and there's no way I want to be in the same state with him when he's in a snit," Elisa replies. "It's bad enough that you don't want to go out with him, but me adding to it by being the one who have you his number. I don't even want to think about it, so keep me out of this."

"I'm doomed," Gwen moans.

"Hey, everything's going to be alright," Lex assures her as he starts to follow Xanatos. "Trust me."

"Lex is probably right, things will be fine," Brooklyn puts in.

"Yeah, I'm sure it will be," Gwen says, sounding completely unconvinced. "Listen, I should get going. I need get home and get my paperwork done. This whole week has put me really far behind."

"I'm sorry if we interfered with your job," Goliath states.

"No, it's alright," Gwen assures him as she picks up her bags. "I'll catch up this weekend. As long as it gets done, that's all that matters."

"Would you like to flown home?" Brooklyn asks, partially spreading his wings.

"No, that's alright," Gwen answers with a smile. "I'm not dressed for flying. You go have fun now that you're free."

"That sounds great," Brooklyn readily agrees as he looks at the clear skies above them, his wings rustling anxiously.

"Happy flying," Gwen says and Brooklyn starts to move towards the wall until he sees Lex watching him.

"You know, I think I'll just stay in tonight," Brooklyn suddenly states as he turns back towards the castle, folding his wings and Gwen catches a glimpse of Lex's grateful face just before the little gargoyle disappears through another door. "There's a movie I've been hoping to catch on TV."

"Aye, lad, now that's more my speed," Hudson agrees as he starts to follow the younger gargoyle. "Good night, lass. Have fun on your… 'date'."

"Good night, Hudson," Gwen calls back as she gives Bronx one final scratch on the head before he follows the others and then she turns to the two remaining beings still with her. "I guess this is goodbye. It was a pleasure meeting both of you."

"Thank you, Gwen," Goliath responds solemnly. "For everything you've done. Will you need to come back tomorrow night to take care of Lexington?"

"I'm glad I could help," Gwen replies, giving herself a crick in her neck looking up at him. "No, just remove the bandaging and he'll be fine."

"Come on, I'll show you the way to the elevators," Elisa offers as she starts walking across the courtyard they're in. "I'll be back in a bit Goliath. I want to talk to you."

"Thanks, I think I could be lost in this place for days and nobody would find me," Gwen chuckles as she starts to follow the detective.

"I know the feeling," Elisa replies with a smile as they walk through a doorway. "I wanted to thank you for the other night. For saving my life."

"You're welcome," Gwen responds. "Sorry about snapping at you the other morning."

"Yeah, well, I deserved it," Elisa mumbles. "I saw my doctor later that day and he yelled at me too."

"Have they done the scratch tests yet?" Gwen asks.

"They're going to do them tomorrow," Elisa answers, not sounding thrilled with the idea.

"I remember when I went through my test," Gwen commiserates. "It's not fun. Are they going to test for gargoyle saliva?"

"Not yet," Elisa responds. "They want to test me for everything else first and I don't react to the tests, than I have to get a sample to the doctor."

"Fun," Gwen mutters. "Listen, I know it's none of my business, but I can tell you and Goliath are close. If you ever do decide to take your relationship all the way, might I suggest something?"

"What?" Elisa asks, nearly growling the question.

"Use lots of lube," Gwen states causing Elisa to stop dead in her tracks.

Gwen feels her face heating up and is actually thankful when she sees the elevators and Owen at the end of the corridor. She quickly continues on her journey, leaving the detective behind in the hall.

"Good night, Elisa," Gwen calls over her shoulder, not quite having the courage to face the other woman. "I'll see you around."

"Night," Elisa quietly replies, still in shock.

Elisa watches as Gwen and Owen get into an elevator and continues to stare as the doors close. She stands there for a good minute still blown away by the doctor's suggestion. With a chuckle and a shake of her head, Elisa turns and heads back out to find Goliath, trying not to think about personal lubrication, where it would be applied and why.

Scene change

Gwen tries to discreetly stand as far away from Owen as possible in the elevator as they make the journey to the underground parking garage. She's not sure what it is about this man that makes the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, but it's giving her the creeps. Just when she's sure she's about a record breaking back shiver, the elevator stops with a ding and the doors slide open.

Owen silently leads her across the private parking lot towards a large, black stretch limo and then quietly opens the back door for her. She smiles her thanks to him briefly and then quickly slides into the back seat where an even bigger shock is waiting for her. Fox sits across from her, patiently waiting for her.

"Good evening, doctor," Fox greets with a self assured smile on her face. "Ready to do some shopping?"

Scene change

**Author's Notes:** A thousand apologies for taking so long with this chapter. It took me a while to figure out how to get Gwen out of the castle. At any rate, I hope everyone enjoyed and please leave review.


	19. Shopping Trip

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to all my reviewers. My apologies for taking so long, but my muse needs to be put in a padded room. She's been bugging me to write an X-Men story and I literally couldn't get any sleep until I got the darn thing started. But at any rate, here's the latest offering and hopefully things will be getting more on a schedule now that she's happily driving me crazy with four stories again. In this chapter, there will be another language used and when you see a sentence (like this) it means they're talking in French. To compensate for the long wait, this chapter is longer than normal, so please leave a review when you're done.

* * *

"Uh, shopping?" Gwen asks hesitantly, wondering if she should get out just as Owen closes the door. 

"Yes, shopping," Fox confirms and chuckles.

"Well…um…," Gwen stammers uncomfortably.

"A little yellow birdie told me you have a couple of dates this weekend," Fox casually remarks as she leans back into the leather upholstery, "and nothing to wear."

"This little yellow birdie isn't perchance more like a bat is he?" Gwen inquires with a raised eyebrow.

"Now that you mention it, yes he is," Fox smiles as she opens a small fridge and pulls out a champagne bottle and a carton of orange juice. "Mimosa?"

"Sure, I could use a drink after the week I've had," Gwen replies as she looks out the window and sees the busy streets of Manhattan go by.

"Has it really been that bad?" Fox asks as she hands the vet a champagne flute.

"Not so much bad as exhausting," Gwen answers as she takes a sip. "This is good, thank you. I'm used to getting up, going to work, going home, going to bed, repeat."

"Sounds dreadfully dull," Fox muses as she leans back.

"Maybe the routine of it is, but it's the job that makes life interesting," Gwen replies as she looks out the window again.

"How so?" Fox asks, sipping her own drink.

"Everyday it's something different," Gwen explains, her eyes lighting up. "One day we'll be giving inoculations to the zebras and the next we'll be attending the birth of an elephant. No two days are ever going to be the same. Some days you just do your rounds and other days all hell breaks loose."

"So, you like your job," Fox observes.

"I love it," Gwen tells her point blank. "I can't imagine doing anything else with my life."

"Don't you want to get married? Children?" Fox inquires.

"Maybe someday," Gwen replies with a shrug.

They travel a while in silence, each lost in their own thoughts as they sip their drinks. A few minutes later, the limo pulls into an underground parking garage and then pulls up to a large set of glass doors. A moment later, Owen opens the door for the women and the women climb out.

"You're not bringing your bags?" Fox questions.

"I can't afford to buy anything, so there's no point in bringing the wallet," Gwen answers simply.

"Good, because I wouldn't have let you anyways," Fox smirks and turns to go inside.

Perplexed, Gwen follows the red head into the store, up a set of escalators and through the shoe department. The smell of leather is almost over powering as they wind their way past boots and heels of every imaginable style, color and size. As they pass by the display tables and shelves of shoes, a familiar head pops out around one of the racks and Gwen just about has a heart attack.

"Hey, sugar," Lars happily calls as he steps out in the walk way.

"Lars, what are you doing here?" Gwen asks, but having a sinking suspicion she already knows the answer.

"Let's just say a little yellow birdie told me that you might be here," he vaguely answers.

"More like a meddling little bat if you ask me," she mutters.

"Now is that any way to talk about your new little friend," he playfully chastises as he puts an arm around her shoulders. "Besides, now is not the time to be all mad. It's a time to celebrate."

"To celebrate?" Gwen repeats in disbelief.

"Yes, to celebrate," he confirms.

"And why are we celebrating?" Gwen inquires.

"Because we're going shoppiiiiiiiinnnng," he sings joyfully, causing other customers to look at him strangely before skittering away.

"Anyone tell you you're completely insane?" Gwen questions.

"Frequently," he grins before turning to the other woman standing there and putting his hand out. "Hi, I'm Lars Davidson."

"Fox Xanatos," Fox responds with a smile, shaking the offer hand. "Shall we get shopping?"

"Yes, let's," he gleefully responds as they start walking again, Lars arm around Gwen insuring that she doesn't escape.

"I can't afford to go shopping," Gwen repeats, doubting that they're listening.

"But I can," Fox smirks in response as she leads them over to the dresses department.

They wander through the racks, Fox and Lars looking over dresses, glancing at Gwen before either taking one off the rack or shaking their heads over it and moving on. Gwen just follows in their wake not sure how to feel about these two shopping for her. On the one hand she's touched that anyone would do something like this for her and on the other she's kind of irked that people are interfering with her personal life, or lack there of. While Fox and Lars continue picking out dresses, Gwen casually looks at the price tag of one of the dresses and about dies of shock.

"Heilige Scheiße!" Gwen exclaims. "This is almost as much as my rent!"

"No, no, no, no, no," Lars immediately responds as he scurries over to her and pulls the tag out of her hand before steering her away from that rack of dresses. "There will be no looking at the price tags. That's strictly forbidden."

"But…but…but…," Gwen stammers, still suffering from sticker shock.

"Doesn't she make the cutest little motor boat sounds?" Lars teases as a sales clerk quickly comes shuffling over, drawn by the sudden shout.

"May I help you find something?" she pleasantly asks.

"I…I…I…," Gwen stutters.

"Yes, she'd like to try these on," Fox tells the clerk, handing over several dresses.

"You'd better go with her," Lars suggests as he pushes a still sputtering Gwen towards Fox. "I'm not sure she can tell me her name right now much less get changed on her own."

"I think you're right," Fox chuckles as she gently takes Gwen by the arm and guides her to the dressing room.

The clerk shows them to a large dressing room, hangs the dresses up on hook and leaves with instructions to come and get her if they need anything. Fox picks out the first dress to try on and by this time Gwen has finally recovered enough to stop sounding like a stuck record.

"Fox, I really can't accept this," Gwen starts. "They're much too expensive."

"Nonsense," Fox laughs with a wave of her hand. "What's the point of having money if you don't spend it?"

"But Mr. Xanatos is already paying for my services," Gwen points out. "By the time the new exhibit is built it'll probably cost him several million dollars."

"That's what David is paying you," Fox replies as she stands in front of the other woman with the dress still in her hand. "This is from me."

"I'm not getting any say in this, am I?" Gwen asks meekly.

"No, your not," Fox confirms. "Now, are you getting yourself undressed or am I going to have to do it?"

"Ok, ok, I'm getting undressed," Gwen finally relents.

She strips out of her dirty work clothes and slips on the dress Fox is holding and Gwen eyes herself critically in the mirror.

"Do I at least get a say in the dress?" Gwen inquires.

"Yes, but not to the extent of turning down every single one," Fox answers.

"Good, because I have to say I'm not really thrilled with pink," Gwen states.

"Ok, we'll skip the pink and move on to the next one," Fox agrees.

After trying on all the dresses, they settle on a little royal blue number with spaghetti straps and sequins on the skirt that comes to just above her knees.

"Ok, great, I've picked out a dress," Gwen says. "Can I go home now?"

"No, we still need to pick out a dress for Saturday night too," Fox reminds her. "Then there are shoes, proper under garments, pantyhose and accessories. After that we need to get your hair done and it would do your hands and feet a world of good to get a manicure and a pedicure and you can never go wrong with a facial."

"But…but…but…," Gwen starts sputtering again.

"You're making motor boat sounds again," Fox teases as she leads Gwen out of the dressing room and up to the sales clerk that was helping them. "We'd like you to hold this for us and we're done with the others."

"Yes, miss," the clerk replies as she takes the dress and the two women step out of the dressing room to find Lars waiting for them.

"Well?" Lars asks impatiently.

"One down, one to go," Fox answers.

"Which one?" he questions eagerly.

"The royal blue one," Fox replies

"Ooh, that one was so cute," he nods his approval. "Now we need to find a second one. Maybe something in black."

"Of course," Fox agrees. "Every woman needs a little black dress in her closet."

"Funny, I've been managing just fine with out one so far," Gwen mutters to herself.

"Don't even get me started on that," Lars warns mockingly. "But now is not time to go on about your lack of love life. Now it's time to shop some more."

Gwen just groans as she follows the other two back to the dresses and finds a spot to plop herself while they pick and chose through the selections. In a few minutes, Lars and Fox have gone through all of the little black dresses and Gwen is hauled back to the dressing room for another round of dress up. After trying on more than half a dozen dresses, they all start looking alike but with Fox's help, Gwen is able to pick out a V-necked dress with an asymmetrical hem and a gold band just below the bust line.

After the dresses are picked out and paid for, they head back to the shoe department where, in Gwen's opinion, the people she's with are certifiably insane. They spend over half an hour just finding the right shoes for the blue dress and then nearly as long for the black dress. When Gwen suggests just getting one pair for both dresses, Lars nearly faints.

Once the shoes are picked out, they head over to the lingerie department where Lars is summarily dismissed and sent to go get coffee which he happily does. Not only does Fox insist that Gwen gets a couple pairs of bras to go with the dresses, but panties as well. Lars reappears after they've made their selections and their purchase has been safely wrapped.

Next it's off to pantyhose and unfortunately, the nylons aren't nearly as easy to get as Gwen had hoped. First there's finding a brand that Gwen likes the feel of, followed by the need to pick out the right color for each of the dresses and then making sure they have it in the right size. At this point, Gwen is about ready to go into hiding until after Christmas.

Just when Gwen is sure she's going to collapse despite the coffee, she's dragged over to the makeup department where they spend way to much time finding the perfect look for her. She's fairly sure that her back is going to break and her feet are going to fall off when she's hauled over to the jewelry department. She at least gets her way when she only wants one pair of earrings with matching necklace and bracelet without any stones for fear of losing them to her sticky fingered landlady. When everything is done, Gwen happily turns towards the exit in hopes of finally making her escape.

"And where do you think you're going?" Fox asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Home?" Gwen replies hopefully.

"We still have to visit the salon," Fox reminds her.

"Well, since you girls are going to have that done, I'll just get going," Lars states as he starts to take all of the packages into his care. "I'll just take these things home for you, sugar."

"We can do that," Fox assures him while he puts the smaller bags inside the bigger ones.

"Well, you see, if I walk in with a bunch of shopping bags, that old windbag of a landlady of ours won't blink an eye," Lars tells her as gets everything sorted. "However, if Miss I-Only-Buy-What-I-Need-To-Survive walks in with all these lovelies, than there's going to be all sorts of problems with that old hag. Trust me, it's better if I take everything with me."

"He's right," Gwen affirms. "Welker would get suspicious if I walked in with all of these things."

"Won't she get suspicious when you walk in with a couple dresses?" Fox asks.

"Honey, I'm as queer as they come," he proudly states. "She wouldn't be surprised to see me walk in wearing a wedding dress with a diamond tiara on."

"Ok, you win," Fox laughs as she hands over the dresses.

After a quick goodbye to Lars, the ladies head for the elevators to go to the top floor where the salon is located. Fox announces their arrival to the receptionist who immediately ushers them in back where their met by the owner of the salon, Pierre.

"Madam Fox, it is so good to see you again," Pierre joyfully greets in a French accent upon their arrival and kisses the back of Fox's hand. "And who is your lovely companion?"

"This is Gwen Knight," Fox says as she gently pushes Gwen closer to the hairdresser. "She has a couple of dates this weekend and she needs the works."

"Enchanté, Mademoiselle," he says, sounding for all the world that he is delighted to make her acquaintance as he bows and takes Gwen's hand, briefly kissing it. "(I must say that you smell like a horse)."

"(Thank you, Pierre)," Gwen replies fluidly with a large smile. "(But it's actually zebra I smell like, not horse)."

Pierre stands there too shocked to move, still bent over Gwen's hand and his face turning beat red.

"What did you say to him?" Fox asks.

"I think he's just surprised to find someone else who speaks French," Gwen answers smoothly and Pierre finally recovers.

"Yes, it is so very rare that I meet someone who speaks my native tongue," Pierre confirms as he releases Gwen's hand and then sharply claps his own a couple of times. "Thomas! Douglas!"

A second later, two men come hustling towards them, both gentlemen are fit, handsome and from the way they walk, more than likely gay.

"Man, is Lars going to be sorry he skipped out on this," Gwen mumbles and Fox chuckles in response.

Within moments of introductions and instructions being given, the women are whisked off to be pampered and primped. Nearly two hours later, Gwen and Fox emerge with Fox not looking all that different, but Gwen is another story. Fox stands by the receptionist's desk with a bag in her hand waiting and when she sees Gwen, her jaw drops.

"Matt's never going to know what hit him," Fox states smugly with a self satisfied smirk. "Wish I could be there to see the look on his face."

"You really think it looks good?" Gwen asks uncertainly as she looks at herself one of the many mirrors hanging on the walls.

"Trust me, you'll have him eating out of your hand in no time," Fox assures her.

"That's pretty unsanitary when you think about it," Gwen points out and Fox laughs.

"Always the doctor," Fox chuckles as she starts heading for the exit. "Come, Doctor, you need to be well rested for tomorrow, so I better get you home."

"Yeah, I have a ton of paperwork to catch up on," Gwen admits.

"I'm not taking you home just so you can do homework," Fox warns as she presses the button for the elevator. "I'm taking you home so you can get some rest so when Matt takes you out tomorrow night your not asleep on your feet."

"But they need to get done," Gwen protests weakly.

"And you still need to get sleep," Fox insists as the elevator doors open with a 'ding'. "The paper work will wait but love waits for no one."

"Hold it right there, this is just a date," Gwen says, quickly nearing panic stage as she follows Fox into the elevator. "This isn't about falling in love or anything. I'm not looking for a boyfriend or husband or anything."

"Calm down," Fox laughs. "No one is expecting you to start sending out wedding invitations by the end of the weekend. Just get to know him. The gargoyles seem to like him, so he can't be all that bad, can he?"

"No, I guess not," Gwen sighs wearily. "It's just…"

"What?" Fox prompts as they reach their destination and step out of the confining space.

"I don't know," Gwen answers with a shrug. "It's just suddenly going out on dates wasn't exactly on my list of things to do right now."

"Well, you better put it there because you have not one man, but two who want to be more than friends in your life," Fox points out as she goes through the glass doors and out to the parking lot where Owen is waiting for them.

"That's what scares me," Gwen mumbles to herself as Fox slides into the backseat.

"Try not to worry so much about it," Fox assures her as Gwen joins her in the limo. "Just go for the fun of it and leave the rest to itself."

"Yeah, I guess that's the only way I'm going to get through this weekend," Gwen reluctantly agrees as Owen starts the motor and pulls away from the curb.

"Good, now do you remember what the gal at the makeup counter told you?" Fox asks, effectively changing the subject.

"Not really," Gwen answers, thankful for the change.

The rest of the trip is spent with Fox giving Gwen makeup and hair care tips. Fox hands over the bag which has several hair care products in it and Gwen tries not to let her eyes cross at all the different things she's supposed to do to her hair. When Owen finally pulls up outside of Gwen's apartment building, Gwen is fairly sure her head is going to explode with all the dos and don'ts that she's supposed to do. By the time Owen has the door open; Lars comes bounding out of the building.

"Great news," Lars happily announces as he helps Gwen out of the car. "Some poor shmuck paid their rent early and the Wicked Witch of the East is flying higher than a kite right now."

"That's not nice," Gwen admonishes him causing him to stop short and stare at her. "Don't insult witches like that."

"So, what do you think of her hair?" Fox asks from seat.

"It's so cute," Lars replies as he gently touches Gwen's tresses. "And look at that, you've got bangs now. It's so cute on you."

"She wants to do paper work," Fox announces and Lars gets a horrified look on his face.

"Oh, no you don't, little missy," Lars states as he none to gently takes her satchel from her. "You will not have nasty old bags under your eyes for your date tomorrow night."

"Give me back my bag, Lars!" Gwen yells at Lars as he makes a hasty retreat back to the building and she has no choice but to give chase. "Good night, Fox. Thank you!"

"You're welcome!" Fox yells back just as the other two disappear through the front door, Gwen yelling at Lars to give back the satchel.

Fox chuckles as she sits back into the leather and Owen closes the door. As the limo pulls away, Gwen is running headlong down the hallway on the first floor towards Lars apartment. By the time she comes bursting through the door, he's shutting the large safe he keeps all of his easily movable valuables in.

"Give me back my satchel," she demands, coming at him without slowing down. "At least give me my coffee mug."

"Your mug is on the couch where I tossed it on the way in here," he tells her as he easily catches her and holds her to him. "You need to look your best for tomorrow night."

"Can I tell you something?" she whispers into his chest, suddenly very still.

"Sure, sugar, what is it?" he replies, frightened by her abrupt change in mood.

"I'm scared."


	20. Before

**Author's Notes: **I'M SORRY! I'msorry I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry. (grovelgrovelgrovelgrovelgrovel) My muse needs to be locked up, that's all there is too it. At least I managed to update before I went on vacation. (Thanksgiving with the in-laws. Pity me.) Enjoy and please review.

* * *

Elisa stares in shock at Gwen's retreating back until the doctor and Owen disappear behind the closing elevator doors. The detective's mind tries to wrap itself around the doctor's words, sure that she must have heard wrong. Did she just suggest…?

"Lots of lube, huh?" Elisa mumbles to herself. "Could be interesting."

She chuckles to no one before shaking her head and heading back the way she had come. A short time later she's stepping back out into cool night air, zipping up her new jacket to help keep her warm. She soon finds Goliath not far from where she left him, looking over the side of the castle onto the city below.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" he asks after she steps up beside him and starts taking in the same view as him.

"Tomorrow the doctor is going to run tests to try and find what I'm allergic to," she tells him. "If everything comes up negative, he wants a sample of gargoyle saliva. Is it alright if you give the sample?"

"I suppose," he replies, concern tingeing his voice. "What would I have to do?"

"As far as I know, you'd just have to spit in a cup," she answers, finally turning towards him. "I've set it up that I should be finishing up the test around sunset. If you meet me on the roof of the hospital, the doctor can get his sample and we can get the whole thing over with."

"Where is this hospital?" he inquires.

"I'll show you," she replies as she steps into his personal space and snakes her arms around his neck.

He easily picks her up and steps up onto the wall just before launching himself into the air. He opens his wings with a loud snap and she wraps her arms a little tighter around his thick muscular neck, gladly sinking into the heat of his embrace. He looks down at her briefly, a low rumbling sound reverberates through his chest and she chuckles.

"Were you just purring?" she teases, a smile stretching her lips.

"Gargoyles do not purr," he tells her indignantly and she snickers quietly.

"Whatever you say, Big Guy," she chuckles and he scowls at her, but she knows he isn't truly upset with her.

"So, where is this hospital I am to meet you at?" he questions, effectively changing the subject.

She directs him to the building and after he gets his bearings, he heads back towards her apartment. She doesn't object as she closes her eyes to enjoy the feeling of the wind in her hair and his arms around her. He's such an incredibly powerful being, but he's always so gentle with her that it astounds her every time they touch.

Way too soon, she feels his body shift and without even opening her eyes, she' knows they're about to land. Once they touch down she cracks an eye open and sees the all too familiar sight of her balcony. She expects him to put her down like he normally does, but instead he carries her inside.

Once the door is firmly secured behind him, he turns his attention back to her and then tentatively kisses her. She gladly returns the affection, gently caressing his face and his tail slashes through the air in excitement. He rumbles deep in his chest again, vibrating through her body and causing her to heat up in all the right places.

The kiss deepens and she wraps her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer to him. After a short eternity, she has to come up for air and he starts to work his way across her jaw and down to her neck. She can feel the lust filled haze settling over her brain and she welcomes it until she feels his sharp teeth starting to dig into her skin.

"Goliath, STOP!" she commands and he immediately freezes. "Don't bite me please."

"I'm sorry," he mumbles as he nearly drops her to her feet and then turns to go.

"Goliath, wait," she begs as she puts a hand on his arm, causing him to pause and look back at her. "Let me show you something."

He reluctantly follows her into the kitchen where she opens a cabinet and starts taking out little plastic bottles, a couple of which have strangely typed labels on them. She sets them out on the counter in front of him and then reaches for a yellow and white box that's about six inches long and an inch across by an inch wide. She opens the box and lets a strange cylinder slide into her hand and he knows he's seen it before.

"This is an EpiPen, like the one Gwen used to save my life," she tells him and then starts pointing to the bottles. "This one is my anti-histamines, this one is my antibiotics and this one is the anti-inflammatory. I used to only take a daily vitamin, but ever since Demona bit me, I have to take all of these others. Fortunately once I'm done with the antibiotics and the anti-inflammatory, I don't have to take them anymore. I've developed an allergy to something and the doctor says that once my body starts reacting to one thing, other things are sure to start causing problems."

"Demona would be delighted to hear that," he nearly growls.

"Remember how I said that the doctor might want to test to see if I'm allergic to gargoyle saliva?" she asks as she starts to put everything back.

"Yes," he answers.

"When you bit me the other night, I still had a lot of the drugs they pumped into me at the hospital, so it's not likely that I would have reacted if I am, " she points out as she pulls her hair back so he can see her neck. "Gwen saw those and had a fit. My doctor saw them and had a fit. Until we determine what I'm allergic to, it's not safe for you to bite me."

"I'm sorry," he says quietly.

"It's alright," she assures him as she steps up to him and gently caresses his face again. "I'm sorry I yelled. You caught me by surprise. Care to watch a movie with me instead?"

"I'm not really as taken with the television as the others are," he tells her. "But if that is what you want to do, then I shall gladly sit and watch a movie with you."

"Good, you go pick out a movie and I'll make the popcorn," she says just before she pulls him down for a quick kiss.

"I'm not sure I'd make a very good selection," he replies hesitantly. "I know nothing about movies."

"All right, you go sit on the couch," she instructs with a smile. "I'll get the popcorn started, get changed and then we'll pick something out together. Does that sound good?"

"Of course," he responds.

Goliath does as instructed and tries to get comfortable on a piece of furniture that wasn't designed for sitters with tails. He hears as Elisa start the microwave, followed by her putting her gun away and then heading into her bedroom. He turns his head around just as she emerges from her bedroom wearing a t-shirt, sweats and thick socks. He watches as she goes back into the kitchen to get the popcorn and then joins him in the living room.

"So, what are you in the mood for?" she asks as she opens up a cabinet with a wide variety of DVDs. "Action? Romance? Mystery?"

"I'll leave it up to you," he tells her. "I am not an aficionado of cinema as the others are."

"Ok, I guess better pick something good then," she replies.

"What you pick will not matter," he states and she turns to look at him with a slightly worried face. "As long as you are at my side, I would be content to watch paint dry."

They stare at each other for several seconds before she smiles and turns around, effectively hiding her reddening cheeks. After sticking the disc into the machine, she settles down on the couch next to him, pulls the bowl of popcorn into her lap and starts the movie. A couple of hours later, the TV's off, she's asleep with her head on his thigh, one of his wings covers her like a blanket, his talons gently combing her hair and he is happily reading a book.

* * *

"Ok, sugar, spill," Lars orders as he places a plate of heated up leftover lasagna in front of Gwen. "Why are you scared?"

"I'm not ready," she admits as she starts to eat.

"For what?" he asks as he takes a seat across the table from her.

"For a commitment," she answers after swallowing. "I don't want to get involved with a man right now. I'm not ready for it."

"Well, it seems they're ready for you," he points out with a snicker.

"Lars, do you know how long it's been since I've seen my family?" she asks.

"Does that include your bitch cousin?" he questions.

"No, I'm talking about my parents and brothers," she replies.

"No," he answers.

"Eleven years," she tells him and she sees his eyes go wide.

"Eleven years," he repeats in shock. "Why so long?"

"I can't afford to go back there to see them and they can't afford to come out here," she states. "I've been saving a little of my paycheck every month, but until my student loans are paid off they might as well be living on the moon."

"So what does this have to do with you having a couple of dates this weekend?" he inquires.

"Don't you see?" she demands, clearly upset. "If I get involved with a guy here, I'll never go home and see my family again."

"Oh, honey, it's just a couple of dates," he sooths as he pats her hand. "It's not like they're going to be asking for your hand in marriage right off the bat."

"I suppose your right," she grumbles.

"Of course I am," he gloats. "Now finish up your dinner and then I want you to march right upstairs, shower and go to bed."

"But my bag…," she starts.

"Is perfectly safe where it is," he interrupts. "You can have it back in the morning. Honestly, I think these dates are the best thing for you. You need to get out and live life a little before you become an old maid."

"Thanks a lot," she growls as she goes back to eating.

"Just think of me of as your fairy godfather and heavy on the fairy," he laughs as he gets up to let her finish her dinner in peace.

A few minutes later she's done and the dish is whisked away from her. Before she can voice any objections, she's marched upstairs and deposited in her own apartment with instructions to go to bed ASAP or else. She waits a minute and then opens her door only to find Lars standing there scowling at her. With a resigned sigh, she showers, sets up the coffee maker, cleans her travel mug and then crawls into bed. She's sure she's going to be awake for hours, but the Sandman finds her within minutes.

* * *

When Gwen wakes up in the morning, she finds her satchel waiting for her on her kitchen counter. She goes to get ready to work and discovers that her hair was cut too short for it to stay in a proper pony tail. After spending more time than she should have to, she finally manages to pull the hair by her face into a pony tail while the hair in the back hangs free. Not perfect, but it'll have to do for now.

By the time she's ready to go, it's time to leave and she's a bit miffed that she had to spend that much time on her hair when she could have been working on her reports. She remembers to grab a jacket this time and then heads down the stairs, her ears straining to see if any noises are coming from the landlady's apartment. When all appears safe, she tiptoes past the old bat's door and slips her rent check into the special box the building's owner put in just for this. Only the new tenants or the really stupid ones give their money directly to the landlady, but fortunately for Gwen, Lars had warned her about it before she made that mistake.

Once she steps outside, she's glad she remembered the jacket since there's a light drizzly that's guaranteed to ruin any hairdo that anyone spent a good amount of time one. She turns up her collar and then zips the jacket all the way up to try and keep partially dry. By the time she gets to the gate, her legs and head are pretty thoroughly soaked but she just keeps moving knowing that stopping isn't an option.

After dropping her things off in her office, she manages to find a beat up Bronx Zoo cap and then heads off to do her rounds. She tries to think of ways to get out of tonight's date and even though Lars thinks she should just relax and have fun, she's too nervous about possible relationships developing. With no way to contact Matt and let him know that she's not interested, she's stuck in a bit of a quandary.

As she's tending to her fifth patient of the day an idea hits her that has her smirking like the Grinch before his heart grew. The answer all lies in the growing pile of paperwork waiting for her. She can just start doing her paperwork just before quitting time and then claim that she lost track of the time.

It's not nice and if her mother ever finds out, she knows she'll never hear the end of it, but it's a way out. Ok, it's sneaky and underhanded, but she didn't ask to be asked out Verdammt and she's not about to be shanghaied into this. With a self satisfied smirk, she turns her attention back to her patient, no longer worried about tonight's date.

Scene change

Several hours latter, Gwen is behind her desk in her tiny little office trying not to pass out because of the overwhelming smell of flowers doing her paperwork. She refuses to look at the clock, knowing if she does she might get a case of guilt and actually go home to get ready for the date with Matt. If she doesn't look at the clock, she can honestly tell the cop that she hadn't noticed the time.

"Ah, there you are," Tony says when he opens her office door without knocking and popping his head in and causing her to jump in surprise. "I had a feeling you were hiding in here."

"I'm not hiding," she objects. "I'm just trying to get some peace and quiet so I can finally get some of this paperwork done."

"Uh-huh, sure," he replies, disbelief in his voice. "Ok, boys, she's all yours."

With that, Tony swings the door wide open and two handsome, well dressed men walk in and stare down at the small woman with pursed lips.

"Jason, Jamie, what are you two doing here?" she asks in a slightly hysterical voice, having a pretty good idea what a hair dresser and a makeup artist were doing in her office.

"Lars was right," Jason states.

"And here I was hoping he was joking," Jamie responds.

"Lars sent you?" she squeaks, sinking down in her seat.

"Alright, girl, just get your stuff together and let's go," Jason orders, his fists firmly planted on his hips.

"I'm very busy right now, guys," she states, hoping a little bravado will scare them away.

"Looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way," Jamie says.

"Guess so," Jason replies and heads towards the doctor.

"Now wait just a minute you two," she begins as she pushes herself away from her desk.

"Nope, sorry, you had your chance," Jason states as he grabs her chair and spins her to face him.

"Hey! NO! **STOP THAT**!" she yells as Jason grabs her and flings her over his shoulder.

"Can you get her stuff?" Jason asks as he maneuvers out of the office and Tony peels Gwen's fingers off of the door jam.

"Not a problem," Jamie answers as he scoops up the paperwork on the desk and dumps it into her satchel while Tony grabs her medical bag and her travel mug.

"PUT ME DOWN!" she shouts as Jason heads out of the building.

"Nothing doing, sister," Jason proudly tells her. "Lars sent us on a mission and by heavens we're going to see the job gets done."

"LET ME GO!" she shrieks, struggling to get free.

"Sugar, I am six foot four," Jason says as he holds on tighter. "Do you really want to fall from that high up?"

"I've fallen farther," she growls as she starts kicking. "This is kidnapping!"

"I prefer the term intervention," Jamie states as he walks behind them with her belongings. "Knowing you, you'd probably have barely gotten home in time for your date. Do you really want to go on a date with a really hot guy smelling like an animal?"

"I wasn't going to barely get home in time," she snarls as she continues her struggling.

"Translation: You weren't going to get home until after he had come and gone," Jamie snaps. "It's a good thing that Lars called us then. To think, you were just going to let that big hunk of a sexy cop stand there wondering were you were for who knows how long and breaking his little heart."

"How would you know if he's a big, hunky guy or not?" she huffs as they get to parking lot and she's now panting.

"Lars described him to us," Jason puts in as Jamie walks past them. "And he's as half as cute as Lars says he is, you should be ashamed of yourself. Trying to stand that sweet man up, shame on you."

"Sweet, nothing," she growls, barely able to breathe with Jason's shoulder pressing into her gut. "The man's been tormenting me from day one."

"Just proves he likes you," Jamie calls back as he gets to the car first and remotes the doors open.

"What would he do if he hated me?" she demands as Jamie opens the passenger door and Jason dumps her in the seat. "Shoot me?"

"Don't be silly," Jason admonishes as he fastens her seatbelt for her.

"I do know how to fasten a seatbelt," she points out as Jamie puts her stuff in the trunk of the car.

"I know, just making sure you don't get any funny ideas," Jason replies.

"Oh, I've got plenty of funny ideas," she snarls, glaring at him. "They involve your butts and a couple tranquilizer darts."

"Ooh, she gets nasty when she's riled," Jamie laughs as he gets behind the wheel.

"Good thing you locked up her medical bag," Jason replies with a chuckle.

"You two aren't helping my mood," she growls while Jason closes her door and then climbs into the back seat.

"Honey, we're not here to improve your mood," Jamie tells her. "We're here to make sure you look absolutely fabulous on your date."

Instead of responding, she slumps down in her seat and sulks as Jamie pulls out of the parking space and starts to drive her home. As luck would have it, they ended up parking almost a block away from her apartment building and nearly have to drag her in. She puts up a token fight, but in the end, she takes her shower and then lets them do her hair and makeup. Just as she's finishing getting dressed and putting on a pair of heels that she's sure is going to break her ankle, the buzzer goes off.

"Yes?" she nervously calls into the speaker.

"Hey, it's Matt," Matt's voice says.

"Hi, come on up," she tells him as she presses the 'open' button.

She goes to put her coat on only to have Jamie snatch it away from her.

"First off, he needs to see you before you put this on," Jamie states.

"And secondly, he should help you into your coat," Jason adds.

All she can do is sigh and wait for Matt to make it up the stairs. A minute later, there's a knock at the door and Jamie and Jason hide behind the door as they open it for her. Matt takes one look at her and gives a low appreciative whistle.

"Beautiful, where have you been all my life?" he quietly asks.


	21. Date

**Author's Notes:** I am really, really sorry about the long wait. I'm just going to have to have my muse sedated. Maybe then she'll be more cooperative with the creating new chapters for all of my stories. I hope.

* * *

As the last rays of the sun disappear from the sky, the sound of shattering stone and roars fills the air. The gargoyles yawn and stretch as the moon starts to peek over the horizon and Goliath glides down from his perch to join Brooklyn, Bronx, Lex and Hudson.

"I must go meet Elisa," Goliath announces. "How is your chest, Lexington?"

"It's fine," Lex answers as he pulls the bandages off to reveal smooth, unblemished hide.

"Good," Goliath states as he hops onto the ledge the others just vacated. "I should be back before dawn. Try to stay out of trouble."

With that, the clan leader leaps into the air and glides off into the night. A few moments later, Broadway and Angela land near them, both acting a bit embarrassed towards the others. Bronx runs up to greet them and happily accepts their caresses while Lex and Brooklyn hang back, neither one looking too happy.

"Hi, guys," Broadway hesitantly greets.

"Hey," Brooklyn nearly growls, slightly mantling his wings.

"Hi," Lex quietly responds as he unconsciously runs a hand over his healed chest.

"Guys, what's wrong?" Broadway asks, taking a step closer to his rookery brothers only to have them both take a step back.

"Your girlfriend was going to try and slice Gwen in two," Brooklyn snarls. "She nearly succeeded with Lex."

"I have a name, you know," Angela snaps, her eyes starting to glow red. "What was that woman doing here anyways?"

"She was checking my wing to make sure it healed right!" Brooklyn shouts as he opens his wings to their full span. "Thanks to her, I can fly again!"

"That'll be enough from the lot of ya," Hudson interrupts before Angela can open her mouth. "And before ye be sayin' anythin' you'll be regretin' later, lass, I suggest you think about who else you went after."

Angela stops and thinks for several seconds before her eyes return to their normal color, grow very wide and a look of horror passes over her face.

"I attacked Elisa," she whispers in horror and Broadway immediately goes to her side to comfort her. "She's like a sister to me and I attacked her."

Tears start to roll down her face and Broadway pulls her into his arms, wrapping his wings around her. Bronx whimpers in confusion and gently butts his massive head against the couple to offer his support and comfort. Lex and Brooklyn shift around uncomfortably as Brooklyn capes his wings over his shoulders, both of them look like they'd like to be anywhere but right there at that moment.

"She's never going to forgive me," she whispers when the tears finally dry up.

"She'll forgive, lass, don't ya be worrin' about that," Hudson assures her as he moves closer to the couple.

"Yeah, she's had other things to worry about," Lex mutters.

"Like what?" she asks.

"Like Demona nearly killed her and if it hadn't been for Gwen, she could have died," Brooklyn answers.

"Is she alright?" Broadway nearly demands.

"She is now," Brooklyn replies. "She went into something called anaphelectic shock."

"Anaphylactic shock," Lex corrects.

"What happened?" Angela inquires.

"After you tried to attack her, Goliath took her and was headin' to see the lads," Hudson explains. "Demona rose to mate the night before you did, so she attacked them. She bit Elisa on the arm and that's when she went into the anaphwhatsit shock."

"Anaphylactic," Lex repeats.

"Luckily he brought her to Gwen's place and Gwen was able to take care of her," Brooklyn adds. "Goliath was pretty upset, too. We practically had to drag him out of Gwen's bedroom so she could treat Elisa."

"But she's alright now?" Angela questions.

"Yeah, she's back at work and everything, but she'll probably have to be extra careful now," Lex replies. "I looked up anaphylactic shock in one of Gwen's textbooks and it's is an acute systemic and severe allergic reaction which happens when a person is exposed to a trigger substance."

"So, what was the trigger substance?" Angela asks.

"Don't know," Brooklyn replies with a shrug.

"I'm sure her doctor is running a bunch of tests to find out," Lex puts in.

"Where's Father now?" Angela inquires.

"He went to meet with Elisa," Hudson answers.

"I guess neither one of them wants to talk to me now," Angela quietly says as she buries her face in Broadway's shoulder.

"I'm sure there's a good reason for him leavin'," Hudson assures her.

"He did sound like it was rather urgent," Lex states.

"Well, whatever the reason, I'm sure it's a good one," Hudson puts in.

They stand around in silence for a few moments as the couple digests the news of what happened while they were busy. Angela continues to lean on Broadway for support as he runs a comforting hand up and down her back and Bronx rubs his head against them.

"So, what else did we miss while we were…," Broadway starts to ask.

"Making babies?" Lex finishes for him.

"Uh, yeah," Broadway bashfully replies.

"Well, you already know that my wing got fixed and Elisa got sent to the hospital," Brooklyn says as he takes a seat on the low wall behind him.

"Oh, Matt asked Gwen out on a date," Lex puts in.

"As in Matt Bluestone?" Angela questions.

"Yeah, I think he's sweet on her," Lex muses with a smile.

"What was your first clue, Sherlock?" Brooklyn sarcastically asks. "Him asking her out or the fact that he showed up unannounced at her apartment?"

"Ha ha, very funny," Lex grumbles. "You know, he's probably already picked her up by now."

"Yeah, I wonder how their date is going," Brooklyn says, leaning back and checking out the city below him.

"You know, I remember the name of the restaurant he's taking her to," Lex states with a crafty look on his face. "Bet I could look up on the internet where it is."

"Now, don't you two be disturbin' their date," Hudson warns. "Human matin' rituals can be very complex and extremely confusin' in the best of circumstances. They don't need you two muckin' about and interferin'."

"We won't be interfering," Lex assures the older gargoyle as he races for his computer. "We'll just be making sure everything's running smoothly."

"Right, running smoothly," Brooklyn repeats as he chases after his friend into the castle.

"You'd think those two only hatched yesterday sometimes," Hudson grumbles as he shakes his head and heads inside. "Come on, boy. Let's go see what's on the television tonight."

Bronx gladly follows his friend, leaving the two lovers alone to find comfort in each other.

* * *

"Wow, you look incredible," Matt tells her, still in shock from the transformation.

"Thank you," Gwen replies, hoping the makeup covers her quickly reddening cheeks. "You're looking very handsome yourself."

"Oh, I just put on a shirt with a few less wrinkles and a new tie," he admits, absently smoothing down his tie. "You're like Cinderella."

"So, I looked like a scullery maid before?" she asks, an amused twinkle in her eye.

"No, of course not," he hastily amends and starts to blush himself. "You know what? Why don't we get going before I make any more of a fool out of myself?"

"That sounds good," she chuckles.

A few minutes later they're stepping out into the autumn night and a shiver runs up her spine as the bitter cold bites right through her thin wrap. Luckily, he was able to find a parking spot near the front door and she's quickly seated in the still warm car. They sit in silence for the ride over to the restaurant as she's too busy praying as he zips through New York City traffic and she's sure she sees her life flash before her eyes a few times.

"You ok?" he asks once they're stopped and he's turned of the ignition.

"Fine," she squeaks.

"Why do I have a feeling you're not being completely honest with me?" he questions with a raised eyebrow.

"Why do you say that?" she asks, her voice still higher than normal.

"I don't know, possibly because you've got a death grip on my door handle," he answers, a smile threatening to emerge.

"Yes, well, I'm not really used to driving through New York," she admits as her heart finally starts to slow down and she starts trying to convince her hand to let go of the aforementioned door handle.

"Perhaps we should go inside now," he suggests while he opens his door.

"Sounds like a good idea," she replies as she convinces her fingers to release the handle.

He unlocks the doors and a second later a valet opens her door, offering his hand to help her out. She gratefully takes it as he steadies her on her heels before handing her over to Matt. She takes a good look around at the opulent setting and eyes him suspiciously.

"I thought you were taking me out to dinner," she says.

"I am," he assures her and he tucks her hand in the crook of his arm. "This hotel has an excellent restaurant on the roof."

"On the roof?" she asks as they start to make their way through the hotel lobby. "I hope it's not open air."

"Trust me," he tells her as they reach the elevators.

She looks at him a bit funny, but says nothing as the elevator doors open and they get in with a few other people. After making several stops at various floors, they get to the top and the doors open. She stands there staring at the sight before her and it's not until a hand at the small of her back gently pushes her does she get out of the lift.

"Welcome to The View," the maitre d' greets as they step up to the podium. "May I help you?"

"Yes, reservation for two, Matt Bluestone," Matt tells the man.

"Ah yes, right this way, please," the maitre d' instructs as

He grabs a couple of menus and leads them through the dinning room to a window table. Matt pulls a chair out for her and helps her take her seat; all the while she's staring at the magnificent view of New York City slowly rotating below them. Matt takes his own seat and accepts his menu from the maitre d' who assures them their server will be with them in a minute before returning to his post.

"I take it the scenery meets with your approval," he states after a couple of minutes of silence.

"I feel like such a country bumpkin," she quietly admits as she turns to look at him. "I've never seen the city from this high up before. It's so beautiful up here."

"I'm glad you like it," he replies with a smile.

"I do, thank you," she responds.

"You're welcome," he says as he looks back at his menu. "You might want to decide what you're going to have or we'll be here all evening."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," she jokes as she picks up her own menu and starts to peruse the selection. "There's something odd about my menu."

"What's that?" he asks as he narrows his choices down.

"There are no prices," she tells him.

"That's ok, you're not the one paying," he points out.

"Oh dear," she mutters.

"What's the matter?" he inquires, finally looking up.

"I've heard about restaurants like this," she answers with a worried look on her face.

"What have you heard?" he questions.

"That the meals are so expensive that they only print the price on half of the menus and only the men get to see those," she answers. "Now I'm afraid to order anything beyond a side salad."

"Gwen, don't worry about the price," he assures her as he puts a hand over hers. "Order what you want."

"You're sure?" she asks nervously.

"I'm sure," he assures her.

"Ok," she replies in a slightly strangled voice and he chuckles as he turns back to his menu.

* * *

"Are you sure that's the place?" Brooklyn asks.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Lex answers huffily. "Look, it's rotating, just like the website said it would."

"Why would people want to eat in a restaurant that's spinning?" Brooklyn wonders as the two gargoyles glide towards the building with a rotating top floor.

"Because it gives them a panoramic view of the city," Lex explains as they get ready to land.

With the utmost care not to be heard, they settle down on roof of the restaurant, having little problems since it's moving so slowly. They carefully creep to the edge and then hang over the side just enough to see in the windows. After looking for a few moments, Lex spots the couple and quietly points them out to Brooklyn. The silently move closer to where Matt and Gwen are sitting and then peek over the side once more.

"That's Gwen?" Lex asks in surprise.

"Yeah, wow," Brooklyn replies. "If I didn't know it was her, I wouldn't have recognized her."

"Fox did a great job," Lex states, taking another quick look.

"What does Fox have to do with this?" Brooklyn questions, looking over at his friend.

"I asked her to help Gwen out," Lex replies. "I gave her Lars phone number too so he could help also."

"I though men were pretty clueless when it came to shopping for women," Brooklyn points out.

"Yeah, straight guys," Lex replies with a knowing smirk. "Lars isn't straight."

"You lost me somewhere back there," Brooklyn responds, confusion clearly evident on his face.

"Lars is gay," Lex chuckles.

"What does being happy have to do with buying women's clothing?" Brooklyn inquires, completely lost.

"It means that Lars likes guys instead of women," Lex tries to explain.

"But he likes Gwen," Brooklyn responds and Lex chuckles as he shakes his head.

"He likes Gwen as a friend," Lex clarifies. "Lars likes guys like Broadway and Angela like each other."

"Oh," Brooklyn says and then realization dawns on him. "Ohhh, I get it. But why would that make them better at buying women's clothes than someone like Matt?"

"Haven't a clue," Lex answers with a shrug.

"Humans…I don't think I'll ever figure them out," Brooklyn states.

"They are a mystery," Lex agrees and then the friends turn back to spying on the dinning couple.

* * *

The View restaurant is a real place and according to the website, it's the only rotating restaurant in all of New York City. It's located on top of the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel on Times Square and you can expect to spend at least $50 per person there. 


	22. A Date With Matt

**Author's Notes:** Hi again. Yes, I'm still alive and hey! I managed to update in less than two months this time. Just a quick reminder that this story is rated T (PG-13) for alluded to relationships. Sorry, but we don't get to see more than some making out. Maybe someday my muse will be feeling frisky and I'll write a companion piece to this story.

* * *

Goliath gently lands on Elisa's balcony, carefully sets her on her feet and then capes his wings before following her inside. He quietly watches her as she shrugs her new jacket off, hangs it up on the coat rack, puts away her gun and then picks up Cagney for a scratch behind the ears. He can't take his eyes off of the myriad of thin red lines on her arms as she feeds her cat and it's all he can do to contain the growl building within him.

"Are you ok?" she finally asks as she steps up to him.

"Must they have scratched you to conduct their 'tests'?" he nearly growls.

"Unfortunately, yeah, they did," she sighs as she walks up to him and then smiles. "Though, that last one might not have been so bad if you hadn't growled at that poor technician when she was trying to administer the test."

"She was scratching you with a needle," he snarls.

"That's why it's called a 'scratch test'," she chuckles as she reaches up and caresses his face, fascinated by the texture of his skin. "At least we know that I'm not allergic to your saliva."

He makes a non-committal grunt as he runs his hands up and down her arms, wishing he could make the little red marks just disappear.

"You know, when I was little, my mother used to kiss my scratches and bruises to make them better," she softly tells him.

"And this helped them heal?" he asks, a brow ridge arched in surprise.

"No, but it did make me feel better," she replies as she looks up at him with hopeful eyes.

Taking the hint, he carefully takes a hold of the hand caressing his face and begins to kiss his way up her arm, starting at the wrist and ending at the edge of her short shirt sleeve. Her breath catches in her throat the instant his lips touch her skin and she can feel her heart starting to pound against her ribs. By the time he's done kissing her second arm, he's not in much better condition than she is.

As soon as he releases her other arm, she steps away from him and turns her back to him. He briefly wonders what he's done wrong until he sees her lift her shirt up and his gaze falls on her back which is covered with even more of these scratches. He softly traces one particularly swollen mark with his talon tip as she drops her shirt to the floor.

"Why is this one different than the others?" he asks quietly.

"That's whatever I'm allergic to," she replies just as softly. "I'll find out in a day or two what it is."

Instead of replying, he drops to his knees and gives that red, swollen spot an extra gentle and loving kiss. She gasps as his lips come in contact with the tender flesh and his hands come up, wrapping themselves around her ribs as he holds her still. With him behind her, the only part she can reach is his hands and lower arms and she begins to caress them as he kisses the other scratches on her back.

By the time he's done, her skin is completely flushed, she's nearly panting and all she wants to do is touch more of him. He gently turns her around and her arms snake around his neck as their lips meet. He pulls her towards him and when skin meets skin, it's all he can do to not to rip the rest of her clothes off and take her right on the floor. Even in his most passionate days with Demona, never has he had such an overwhelming desire to please and claim his mate.

"Bedroom," she gasps when they finally come up for air.

Without question, he stands up with her still in his arms as she wraps her legs around his torso and heads for that sacred place.

* * *

"So, Switzerland, huh?" Matt says as he takes a sip of his wine.

"Yeah," Gwen replies, blushing slightly.

"So, how'd you end up in The Big Apple?" he asks, his head tilting to the side.

"That's a long story," she automatically answers.

"I've got nothing but time," he points out.

"Oh, yeah, right," she says, her cheeks reddening even more. "Well, I'm from a tiny little town in the Swiss Alps in a tiny little valley and unless you know where it is, it's not likely you'll find it. I'm the youngest of four kids and the only girl. Needless to say, Mama was thrilled to finally have a daughter to whom she could teach all of the things a young lady should know to run and maintain a household. To bad that from the moment I learned to read, I always had my nose in a book."

"That must have driven her crazy," he chuckles.

"It drove her nuts," she confirms with a smile. "Since we lived on a farm there weren't a lot of books in the house and the nearest library was over an hour's drive away. It was always a treat for me when I got to go into town with dad about once a month."

"That must have been some library to let you have a book for a month," he muses.

"Well, I didn't get to keep them that long," she explains. "Dad always took them back on his return trip a week or so later."

"But you said that he went into town once a month," he observes.

"No, I said _we_ went into town about once a month," she points out. "I went if I did all of my chores and since my nose was usually in a book…"

"The chores didn't always get done," he chuckles.

"Yeah," she responds as her cheeks turn pink again. "As it was, I read almost every book we owned so many times that the pages started to fall out."

"Almost every book?" he questions.

"Yeah, there was one book I wasn't ever allowed to touch," she replies.

"Must have been some book," he muses with a raised brow.

"It was," she confirms. "Remember how I told you I was descended from refugees from the British Isles?"

"Yeah and I was thinking how far away Switzerland is from the British Isles," he states, a look of suspicion on his face.

"Their leader was a lady of nobility, but with the political upheaval at the time a price was put on her head," she explains. "She and a group of others escaped with barely their lives and that book."

"So what's so special about that book?" he asks.

"She wrote her travels in it and it contains our family tree in it," she answers. "I'm a direct descendant of her."

"What do you know?" he smiles. "I'm taking a princess out to dinner."

"She was nobility, not royalty," she corrects with a smile.

"Could have fooled me," he replies as his gaze on her intensifies. "You're prettier than any princess I've ever seen."

"Thank you," she whispers while she quickly takes a sip of her water as her cheeks turn a lovely shade of red.

"So anyways, you've read all the books in the house except for that one…," he prompts.

"I drove my poor mother to her wits end," she continues. "Unlike other little girls, I wasn't interested in learning to cook or mend or can food or anything a proper farmer's wife should know how to do. To make matters even worse, any time the vet would come and visit, I was right there wanting to know what he was doing, why he was doing it and could he teach me to do it. By the time I was twelve, my parents realized there was no way I was going to be happy living a simple life like they do, so they started looking at alternatives for me. When I was fourteen, one of my cousins married an American and moved to Boston. There was a lot of letters and phone calls between her and my parents and the day after my sixteenth birthday, I got on a plane and flew to Boston. My cousin became my legal guardian and I lived with her until I moved to New York. I busted my buns, got my GED and then put myself through college, but it was worth it. I graduated a couple of years ago and by sheer bloody luck, I got an internship at the Bronx Zoo that turned into a regular job."

"That's quite the tale," he replies, his eyes narrowing a bit. "But why do I have the feeling you're not telling me everything?"

"What, you want to hear how I only managed to get through school by putting myself so far into dept that my grandchildren will be paying off my loans?" she asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Is it really that bad?" he questions.

"Not really, but sometimes it feels that way," she sighs.

"So, what are your plans after you're in the black?" he inquires.

"I want to go home," she tells him wistfully.

"I didn't think the date was going that badly," he jokes.

"To Switzerland," she clarifies, quietly chuckling.

"For good?" he inquires.

"That's my plan," she calmly replies.

"Why?" he questions.

"Why do I want to go home?" she counters in disbelief.

"No, why become a doctor for lions and tigers and bears if you're just going to go back to the farm?" he clarifies. "What's the point?"

"Switzerland has zoos too," she points out. "Just because I return to my native country doesn't mean I'm going to live out the middle of nowhere. I like living in the city and my plan is to live in one of the bigger cities and work there."

"Why can't you just do that here?" he asks.

"I could if I never want to see my family again," she replies a bit exasperated by his thick headedness. "I haven't seen my parents or brothers in over a decade. I have nieces and nephews I've never met. How would you feel if you knew that you'd never see your family again?"

"Sorry, I guess I hadn't thought of it that way," he replies remorsefully. "I guess your family can't come out here."

"No, there are a lot of people who depend on them," she replies.

"How so?" he questions.

"They have the largest dairy farm in the valley, they own about half the orchards," she explains. "If they leave, the town might as well leave too. Keep in mind that my family has been living in that valley for about a thousand years, I can't just ask them to give it all up."

"A thousand years?" he repeats in surprise. "Impressive."

"We think so," she says with a proud look on her face. "How many people in the United States can boast that they can trace their family line back a thousand years?"

"Not many, I imagine," he replies as the server arrives with their food. "So does this mean you won't go out with me again?"

"Let's see how tonight goes, shall we?" she replies with a kind smile. "But don't hope for any long term commitments."

"Fair enough," he responds as he picks up his fork.

"So, now that I've told you about my life, I think it's only fair you tell me about yours," she states as she picks up her utensils.

"You asked for it," he smirks as he takes his first bite.

* * *

"So what do you think?" Brooklyn asks.

"Well, it seems to be going good so far," Lex answers. "She hasn't thrown her water in his face."

"Yeah, but she's been doing most of the talking," Brooklyn points out.

"That's because he probably asked her about her life," Lex replies.

"Think she'll ask him about his life?" Brooklyn questions as he shifts into a more comfortable position.

"Probably, but I feel sorry for her when she does," Lex responds as watches the couple on the other side of the glass. "Especially if he brings up the Illuminati."

"Hey, look," Brooklyn points at them. "Their food's arrived. Looks like he got a steak and she ordered fish."

"I can't tell from here," Lex says as he cranes his neck to try and get a better look. "It could be chicken."

"Let's move closer," Brooklyn suggests as he puts action to words.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Lex cautions as he carefully follows his friend.

"I just want to see what they're having for dinner," Brooklyn assures Lex as he cranes his neck into a funny position to try and see.

"Careful," Lex warns as Brooklyn leans out even farther over the edge of the roof. "Or you might…"

"WOAH!" Brooklyn yells as he loses his grip on the roof and plummets towards the street below.

"…fall," Lex grumbles as the sound of Brooklyn's wings snapping open reaches him.

* * *

"There's this secrete society called the Illuminati that runs…," he starts to tell her as she picks up a bite of her fish on her fork and then stops dead with the utensil hanging in front of her open mouth, a look of shock on her face. "What is it? What's the matter?"

"I don't believe it," she whispers.

"I know, a lot of people don't believe the Illuminati exist, but I know that they do," he insists.

"Not that," she hisses.

"Then what?" he asks, slightly confused and a bit vexed.

"I just saw Brooklyn fall off of the roof," she quietly grumbles. "And I could have sworn that I saw Lexington move out of sight when I looked up."

"How'd they find us?" he demands.

"I had your invitation in my satchel the other night and it fell out," she tells him. "Lex recognized your handwriting. I guess he memorized where you were taking me."

"So that's why you weren't too surprised to see me earlier," he notes as he cuts into his steak.

"Yeah, sorry about that," she admits, a bit embarrassed.

"That's ok," he assures her. "Now where was I?"

"The Illuminati," she reminds him.

"Right, the Illuminati," he says as she settles down and tries to look interested.

* * *

Several hours later, he's walking her to her front door and she's sure that at any second her feet are going to fall off. She's holding onto his arm, not because he offered it, but because she's pretty sure she'll break an ankle if she doesn't. If she ever meets the person who invented high heels, there are a series of medical procedures she would love to perform on him or her. When they reach the door, he looks at her hopefully as she fishes her keys out of her purse, something that takes a bit longer than it really should.

"Thank you for this evening," she finally says when she can't put off saying goodnight any longer. "I had a lovely time."

"I'm glad," he replies and they both shift their feet nervously. "So, um, goodnight kiss?"

"On the first date?"

"It was worth a shot," he grins as he opens his arms. "How about a hug then?"

"I can do a hug," she agrees as she steps into his embrace.

He's warm and he smells pleasant enough, but it's a little off to her and then she remembers back to one of her classes talking about how if a potential mate doesn't smell quite right, the female won't accept him. With one final gentle squeeze, she steps back and he reluctantly lets her go.

"Did you enjoy the show?" he asks, hoping to delay the end of the date a little longer.

"It was wonderful," she replies. "It was great to finally see Lars on stage again."

"Again?" he questions with a raised eyebrow.

"He got me tickets for my birthday," she explains.

"Oh," he says.

"But it was great to see it again," she assures him.

"Well, that's good," he replies, trying to cover up the massive hole in his ego. "You sure about that kiss?"

"I'm sure," she responds with a smirk and points up. "Especially with those two hanging around."

Matt looks up just in time to see a yellow and red head disappear back over the top of her apartment building.

"Alright you two, front and center!" he yells.

She nervously glances around the street to make sure no one is watching and a moment later the two young gargoyles land next to them.

"Hi," Lex says, a bit embarrassed.

"Fancy seeing you two here," Brooklyn puts in, trying to play innocent and failing spectacularly.

"That's something one us should be saying," Matt points out as he glares at the two friends.

"Learn anything interesting?" she asks, fighting back a smile.

"You like fish," Brooklyn answers with a smile.

"And you fall off of roofs," Lex grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I slipped," Brooklyn replies defensively.

"You got nosy," Lex shoots back.

"Ok, you two, that's enough," she chuckles. "I hope your curiosity has been satisfied. Not many people would be as understanding as us to have you following them around on a date. You two need to be careful. I've seen the news and there are some pretty mean people out there who wish you harm."

"You sound like Goliath," Brooklyn grumbles.

"That's only because he's your leader and I'm your friend and neither one of us wants to see either one of you get hurt," she tells them. "Just tell me you'll be more careful, ok?"

"Ok," they agree unenthusiastically.

"Good," she says with a kind smile. "Now, if you three will excuse me, my pillow awaits me."

"Would you like any help getting past your landlady?" Lex offers as both gargoyles eyes start to glow white.

"No, I'm good," she smiles at them. "The rent's been paid so she's probably flying higher than a kite right now."

Lex and Brooklyn look up into the sky searching for a human shaped kite as their eyes return to normal.

"It's a figure of speech you two," she laughs as she opens the door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Matt, Lex and Brooklyn say in unison as she waves one last time before closing the door.

"So, how'd it go?" Lex asks as soon as the door clicks shut.

"Like I'm going to tell you two," Matt scoffs as he heads back towards his car. "We spent the entire night looking over our shoulders for you two."

"Well, if graceful over there hadn't fallen off of the roof, you would have never known that we were there," Lex grumbles pointedly glaring at Brooklyn.

"Fine, see if I help you watch her next date," Brooklyn snaps as he heads for the side of Gwen's apartment building.

"Like I'm going to tell you where we're going on our next date," Matt snorts as the Lex follows his clan mate.

"No, the one she has tomorrow night," Lex tells him making the detective stop dead in his tracks.

"She has a date tomorrow night?" Matt asks, stopping dead in his tracks. "With who?"

"Yeah, she does, but I don't know with who," Lex tells him as he and Brooklyn start to climb up the wall. "The card didn't say."

Matt watches the two scale the side of the building and then glide away, all the while fuming. He's not sure who he's angrier at, her for telling him a tall tale or himself for believing it. With clenched fists, he stomps back to her car and drives home in what is turning into a seething rage.


	23. The Morning After

Gwen wakes to the sound of someone moving around in her apartment and the smell of bacon wafts past her nose and she knows it can only be one person who's responsible for this intrusion. With a quiet groan, she rolls over and tries to go back to sleep only to feel someone pounding on her backside through the covers a moment later. She pulls the blankets over her head and burrows down deeper under that blissfully warm cocoon only to have them ripped off of her body a moment later.

"Lars!" she loudly whines as she reaches for her lost warmth.

"Don't you 'Lars' me, young lady," Lars huffs, keeping the blankets well out of reach. "I didn't slave over a hot stove so you could sleep the day away. Now rise and shine."

"'And while you're eating breakfast, why don't you tell me all about your date last night'," she says, her voice dropping an octave in an attempt to sound like her friend as she cracks an eye to glare at him. "It's Saturday, it's my day off and I'm sleeping in."

"You have slept in, sugar," he states, pointing the ladle in his hand at her clock. "It's nearly noon. And telling me about your date last night is the least you could do for me since I made you breakfast."

"I don't suppose it could be breakfast in bed," she grumbles as she sits up.

"That is something that should be reserved for the morning after your first night with some stunningly handsome, well to do and extremely sensitive man," he smugly tells her as he turns to leave.

"The only problem with that scenario is that he'd also have to be straight," she counters while she swings her legs over the side of the bed and lets out a huge yawn. "I hope you made coffee."

"Of course," he snorts from the kitchen. "Do you really think that I'd forget the nectar of the gods? And I made the good kind too. Not that dark mud you get by on."

"I can afford the dark mud," she reminds him as she finally gets to her feet and staggers after him. "I can't afford the good stuff."

"What about the coffee beans I gave you for Easter?" he asks as he starts to pour her a cup of the delightful dark stuff.

"That was nearly six months ago and I drank it all," she answers as she gladly accepts her cup from him and takes that first sip of heaven. "Dear lord, that's good."

"Good thing Christmas is coming up," he muses as he gets out a couple plates and starts to load them up with food.

"Lars, you know you don't have to get me anything," she says, trying not to think about all the presents she has to buy and mail or how much it's going to cost.

"I know, but I like doing it and there's nothing you can do to stop me," he smirks as he finishes filling the plates with food and heads for her tiny table.

"One of these days…," she starts to threaten, following him.

"I'll find a man who will love me for my brain instead of my body," he interrupts as she sits down across from him.

"Let's hope it's about the time I finally have my loans paid off and enough money in the bank for a one way ticket home," she sighs as she butters her French toast.

"I'm not sure I can wait that long," he moans, pretending to be horrified with the thought.

"Very funny," she grumbles as she starts munching on her bacon.

"So, how did last night go?" he asks after she gets a few swallows in.

"Ok, I guess," she replies with a shrug. "We went to The View on top of the Marriott, then we went and saw you in The Lion King and then he brought me home."

"While I'm thrilled that you came to watch me steal the show, I can't believe the entire evening was complete flop," he replies.

"I spent half of dinner listening to him go on about some conspiracy theory about some group called the Illuminati and it was just about as exciting as the Greek history class I took back in college," she grumbles. "At least he was passionate about the subject where as that professor was about as exciting as a dead fish."

"I've never heard of this Illuminati thing," he tells her.

"Be glad," she replies. "It just about put me to sleep. The only thing that kept me awake was trying to spot Brooklyn and Lexington."

"What were they doing there?" he asks in surprise.

"I think they were just curious," she answers and then smiles. "Though, it was amusing to see Brooklyn fall off of the roof of the restaurant."

"He fell off of the roof?" he laughs. "That must have been some sight."

"It completely caught me by surprise," she admits with a chuckle. "He's lucky no one else saw him."

"So, I take it there aren't any future dates planned," he says.

"Not currently," she responds. "He's not a bad guy, once you get past the Illuminati stuff, but I don't really think he's my type."

"Honey, you haven't dated enough to have a type," he teases.

"Thanks a lot," she growls and then goes back to her eating.

"So, have you got everything ready for tonight?" he questions after a minute or so of silence.

"God, I don't even want to think about tonight," she moans as she pours syrup all over her French toast. "It was nerve wracking enough knowing who was taking me out last night. I don't even know who's picking me up tonight. It could be Jack the Ripper for all I know."

"I doubt Jack would come back from the dead just to ask you out on a date," he teases. "It has to be someone you know. Complete strangers aren't going to send you a dozen long stem roses and invite you to one of the nicest restaurants in all of New York. So, who do you know that is single, male and likes you?"

"Well, the single and male covers about half of the men at work, not that we're sure it's from someone at work," she muses and then thinks of something a little worrying. "How can we be sure it's a man? Talk about making things awkward at work if it's a woman I have to let down."

"Ok, let's not panic," he says worriedly.

"Why not?" she demands, her eyes wide with worry and a panicked look on her face. "I can do panic. I do panic very well."

"You hoping for an Oscar nomination with that act?" he asks sarcastically.

"I'd thought I'd practice when Willie shows up tonight," she replies with a snicker.

"Who's Willie?" he inquires.

"The guy who mucks out the elephant and giraffe stalls," she answers. "He barely speaks English, weighs about the same as a water buffalo and has the same hygiene habits as a musk ox. Smells about as good as one too. He always gives me a big smile when I go by."

"Ok, lets assume that the person who's going to show up tonight one, knows your work schedule so he knows you have today and tomorrow off, two, is male, three, has a high enough position at the zoo to afford to send you those roses and take you out to a very nice restaurant four, likes you and five, has decent grooming habits," he lists, counting each item off on a finger as he goes.

"Six, is completely _fou_, seven,…," she tries to continue.

"_Fou_? What the hell is _fou_?" he interrupts.

"Crazy, insane, nuts, cuckoo, loco," she replies. "It's French."

"Ok, I get the idea," he chuckles as he gets up, taking his empty plate into the kitchen. "A man doesn't have to be crazy to date you. It'd probably help, but he doesn't have to be."

"Thanks a lot," she huffs as she drains her coffee cup.

"Come on, sugar, finish up," he tells her as he refills her coffee cup. "We've got work to do."

Her only response is a groan of defeat.

* * *

Tired, sore and unable to keep a small smile from playing across her lips, Elisa leans against her car in the early evening light waiting for Matt to make an appearance. By the time he does show up, she's about done with the monster cup of coffee she has to help her wake up and to keep her warm. She takes one look at his ticked off face and decides she doesn't want to know what's got him in such a mood.

Without a word to each other, they get into the car and start to make their rounds. After about an hour of cruising around, making sure that they're beat is all quiet; Elisa heads towards the castle and the gargoyles. Matt is so involved with his own thoughts that he doesn't even realize where they are until they step into the elevator.

"Why are we here?" he asks grumpily.

"I thought we'd go up and say 'hi' to the guys," she answers, carefully making sure her hair covers the sides of her neck. "I'd like to see how Broadway and Angela are doing."

"Yeah, great, let's go check in on the love birds," he grumbles.

"What's got you in such a snit?" she asks.

"Oh, not much," he nearly snarls as the elevator doors open. "Just the lovely Dr. Knight lies through her teeth."

"How so?" she questions as they start to make their way through the castle.

"Remember how she said she's from Switzerland?" he asks.

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, I doubt that's where she's from at all," he grouses.

"Why do you say that?"

"She gave me this whole spiel about being descended from this band of refugees and how they barely made it out of the British Isles with their lives and how she's a direct descendent from their leader," he starts.

"Ok."

"Then she tells me how she grew up on a farm and how she was always reading and how she just wasn't suited to be a farmer's wife and how her family sent her out here when she was sixteen and how she put herself through college and that she's up to her eyeballs in debt because of it," he continues.

"Alright."

"For the final kicker, she tells me that she's not interested in a long term relationship since she plans on moving back to Switzerland once her loans are paid off," he finishes as they step out into the cold night air.

"So, you're mad because she doesn't want to go out with you again?" she questions, a bit confused.

"I'm mad because I found out that while she's giving me this whole sob story about wanting to return home and missing her family, she's got plans go out with another guy tonight," he snarls. "She's probably planned on going out with this guy for weeks. She was playing me for a fool."

"Actually, she told Lars that she wasn't planning on going on either the date with you or the other guy tonight," Lex states from his perch above them. "If I hadn't asked Fox to help out then she wouldn't have had anything nice to wear for your date last night."

"Not that I'm the greatest judge on human fashion, but I thought she looked pretty good last night," Brooklyn adds as he lands next to the two detectives.

"I saw both of the invitations and there weren't any names on either one, so I doubt she knows who she's going out with tonight," Lex puts in as he glides down to join them.

Elisa and the gargoyles all look at Matt to see how he responds to this news and after a few seconds he just gives a short laugh and shakes his head.

"I guess the joke's on me," Matt sighs as scratches the back of his neck. "I feel like I need to apologize to her now."

"Does she know that you were mad at her over nothing?" Elisa asks as the sound of more gargoyles landing reaches their ears.

"No," Matt answers.

"Then don't worry about it," Elisa assures him as she turns to face the new comers. "Hey, guys."

"Evenin', lass," Hudson greets first. "What brings ya up here?"

"Nothing much, just wanted to say, 'hi'," Elisa replies while Bronx rubs against her to get his head scratched. "Check how things are going."

"It's always a pleasure to have you in our home, Elisa," Goliath adds, intently gazing at her.

She looks up at her new mate and she can feel her cheeks and other interesting places getting warm.

"Thanks," she hastily replies before turning towards the other couple in the group. "Hey, you two, how are you doing?"

"We're good," Broadway answers but Angela looks like she's about to burst into tears.

"Angela, are you ok?" Elisa questions worriedly.

"I…I…," Angela stammers, shifting nervously from foot to foot and Broadway puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Elisa, about the other night…"

"Don't worry about it," Elisa assures her. "You weren't exactly yourself that night."

"But you got hurt," Angela replies, still very upset.

"By Demona, not you," Elisa points out as she walks up to the female and lays a reassuring hand on her arm.

"I'm sorry," Angela whispers, not quite able to look at the woman.

"It's alright," Elisa softly tells her.

"Thanks," Angela quietly responds, finally looking at Elisa and giving her a small smile.

"Not a problem," Elisa replies with her own smile before turning back to the group at large. "So, what have you guys got planned for tonight?"

"There's a Humphrey Bogart marathon on tonight," Hudson replies starting to turn towards the door and Bronx begins to follow him.

"Patrolling," Goliath states in a commanding voice and there are several groans from the younger gargoyles. "The past several nights we have been lax in our duty protecting our new home."

"Things have been a bit hectic the past few nights," Elisa agrees.

"True, but it is time for us to get back to our duties," Goliath replies.

"Well, boy, it looks there won't be any Bogie for us tonight," Hudson sighs as he pats the hound's head while Bronx whines sadly and then the eldest clan member heads for a nearby wall.

"Come on," Broadway says as he takes Angela's hand in his. "I know a place where the muggers like to hang out in Central Park."

"Speaking of work, we should probably get back to work too," Elisa says, looking at her partner.

"Yeah, ok," Matt replies with a shrug and starts to head for the door.

"Ah man," Brooklyn grumbles as he starts to head towards the castle wall.

"Don't worry, I know the perfect place to patrol tonight," Lex tells his friend as he follows the red gargoyle.

"Oh yeah? Where?" Brooklyn questions.

"Rockefeller Center probably has lots of thugs that need to be straightened out," Lex answers confidently.

"What's happening in Rockefeller Center?" Brooklyn asks as they hop up onto the wall.

"Oh, you know…stuff," Lex evasively replies as they both launch themselves into the air.

"I wonder what those two are up too," Goliath grumbles.

"You know, maybe we should check out Rockefeller Center, just in case there are any problems," Matt suggests.

"And if a certain vet and her date just happen to be there, all the better, I don't think so, partner," Elisa smirks as she turns back to the remaining clan member. "I'll catch you later; we do have to get back to work."

"Take care of yourself, Elisa," Goliath says while he turns towards the wall.

"You too, Big Guy," she softly calls back to him as she turns and heads back inside. "Come on, partner, let's get back to work."

"You know, I really think we should make sure that Rockefeller Center is secure," Matt suggests again as they travel back through the castle.

"Not going to happen," Elisa chuckles while they walk down the corridor.

"But…," he tries to continue.

"You are not crashing that poor woman's date if I have anything to say about it, mister," she sternly tells him. "Come on, I'll buy you a cup of coffee and then you can tell me all about your date. Maybe if you ask Lex and Brooklyn nicely tomorrow night they'll tell you about Gwen's date tonight."

"Bet he'll get a kiss goodnight," he grumbles as they step into the waiting elevator and she just shakes her head as the doors close behind them.

* * *

"You ready?" Lars asks as she fidgets in front of her mirror.

"No," she nearly whimpers while readjusting her nylons and wondering how women wear the blasted things on a daily basis. "Do I have to do this?"

"Oh, please, let me get the cheese platter to go with that whine," he teases as the door buzzer goes off. "Ok, sugar, this is it. Show time."

"Can't I cancel?" she begs as he heads for the speaker next to the door.

"No," he tells her just before pushing the 'talk' button. "Yes?"

"Hi, I'm here to pick up Gwen," a tinny man's voice responds through the speaker.

"At least my date's a man," she mutters as she slides her feet into her shoes.

"Please come in, she'll be down in a minute," Lars tells the man and pushes the release button for the door downstairs. "Ok, sugar, let's go."

She makes another whimpering sound and then picks up her bag and wrap before joining Lars in the hallway. She takes an inordinately long time to lock up and she turns to find her friend with his hands on his hips and tapping his foot with impatience. She meekly follows him down the stairs, taking it slowly and carefully, not so much because she's stalling and dreading who might be waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, but because she's afraid she's going to break an ankle in the blasted heels she's wearing.

By the time she reaches the landing before the last set of stairs, Lars is already there with a big, stupid grin on his face. She frowns at him and then slowly makes her way to the last set of steps before looking down to see who's waiting for her. Her jaw drops when recognition of the man waiting for her registers in her brain.


	24. Saturday's Date

"How about I drive for a while," Matt suggests, holding his hand out for the keys as they step out of the elevators.

"No, that's ok, I can manage," Elisa replies, seeing right through his plans.

"You know, you look a bit tired," he points out as they make their way through the lobby.

"I'm fine, thanks," she smirks, as memories of last night slip past her mind's eye and certain parts of her body start to wake up just fine.

"Really, you look pooped," he insists while they step out into the cold night air. "Why don't you take it easy tonight and let your partner drive."

"Not going to happen," she answers with a laugh as they make their way to her car.

"Really, you look worn out," he tries one more time when they get to her car.

"Well, why don't you keep me awake by telling me about your date last night," she suggests as they both get in, her behind the wheel. "I'm sure that will help me stay awake."

"You know, Lex and Brooklyn might need back up," he implies while she starts the car. "We should make sure they're ok."

"I think they'll manage just fine without us," she replies as she pulls away from the curb.

"How about a quick drive by, just to make sure everything is quiet," he suggest.

"How about no," she snorts. "Give it a rest, Bluestone, you're not crashing Gwen's date tonight."

"Can't blame a guy for trying," he quietly grumbles and she just chuckles to herself and shakes her head.

* * *

"Wow," he whispers, in complete awe of the vision before him.

"J-J-J-John?" Gwen stammers, shocked almost beyond words.

"Yeah, hi," John replies with a nervous smile. "Surprised?"

"You could say that," she replies with a bit of a laugh.

The two of them stand there, shifting from one foot to the other, casting nervous glances at each other.

"Oh for heaven's sake, get your little butt down there," Lars orders, gently pushing her towards the steps. "I've got to get to the theater tonight you know."

"Ok, ok, I'm going," she grumbles as she takes her first cautious steps down the stairs.

About half way down, John meets her and helps her down the rest of the way. Try as she might, she can't help but blush and he just smiles at her.

"You look incredible," he quietly tells her as they exit the building.

"Thank you, so do you," she replies, blushing so hard now that the she can't feel the chill in the air. "I don't think I've seen you in anything but you're work clothes. You look really good in a suit."

"Thanks," he responds just before opening the car door for her.

After making sure that she's safely in, he shuts the door and takes a deep breath, letting the cold night air fill his lungs. He tries to calm his nerves, still not believing that after nearly three years of trying, he's finally taking her out.

* * *

"Ok, so what are we looking for?" Brooklyn asks as they land on top of one of the many buildings surrounding Rockefeller Plaza.

"I'll let you know when I find it," Lex tells him as he intently stares at the shops and restaurants in the area. "There it is."

"There what is?" Brooklyn questions as he looks towards where Lex is pointing.

"Alfredo of Rome," Lex replies.

"What? You in the mood for Italian or something?" Brooklyn inquires as he gazes down at the restaurant. "I don't think they do take out."

"Come on," Lex instructs as he takes off, forcing Brooklyn to follow him.

A few moments later they land on a closer building with a better view of the front of the restaurant and Lex eagerly scans the crowd of people going by below them.

"What, exactly, are we doing up here?" Brooklyn asks.

"There," Lex exclaims as he points down into the crowd. "There they are."

"There who are?" Brooklyn demands and then he spots them. "Whoa."

"I like her dress," Lex says conversationally as they watch the couple make their way to the front door of the restaurant.

"Yeah, she looks nice, but who's that guy with her?" Brooklyn wonders as they watch Gwen with a strange man go into the restaurant.

"I have no idea," Lex answers. "But whoever he is, she likes him."

"Why do you say that?" Brooklyn asks.

"Because she's laughing," Lex replies. "I didn't see her laughing like that last night."

* * *

"Wow," she breathes as she openly stares at the very posh restaurant.

"You like?" he asks, a smile seems to be permanently stuck to his lips.

"Yeah, this place is incredible," she answers in amazement as she continues to gawk at the décor. "Are those Hirschfeld's?"

"They most certainly are," he chuckles as the maitre d' indicates they should follow him.

He places his hand on the small of her back and gently steers her through the tables, pulling her chair out for her when they make it to their seats. She manages to pull her attention away from the pictures hanging on the walls long enough to open her menu and note that once again her menu is missing something.

"Do I want to know why there are no prices listed on my menu?" she asks without looking up.

"Not really," he answers, continuing to scan his on menu for something that tickles his fancy.

"Just checking," she says as she looks over the selection and tries to find something that doesn't look too expensive.

* * *

"Ok, now we know where she is and that we don't know the guy," Lex states. "So, now what do you want to do?"

"Now we sit and wait," Brooklyn answers, getting comfortable.

"Shouldn't we be patrolling?" Lex questions.

"We are," Brooklyn confidently replies as he waves his hand over the crowd. "We're keeping watch over the plaza."

"I don't think this is what Goliath had in mind when he told us to patrol," Lex points out, shifting around on his perch nervously.

"We're making sure nothing happens to Gwen on her date," Brooklyn assures his friend.

"They're inside a restaurant," Lex reminds him. "How much trouble can they get into?"

"Well, things could turn bad and she might storm out and then she'll need to be watched over to make sure she gets home safe," Brooklyn replies.

"Come on, we should really be patrolling," Lex insists.

"You go ahead, I'm going to keep an eye on things," Brooklyn says, leaning back and relaxing.

"Uh, Brooklyn, I really think we should both get going," Lex replies, suddenly becoming very jumpy.

"What's your problem?" Brooklyn asks. "Just relax and take it easy."

"Perhaps it's because he knows how much trouble you two will be in if you don't start patrolling right _now_," says a deep, angry voice behind them.

Brooklyn nearly falls off the roof in surprise and barely looks back at a scowling Goliath before taking off. Lex isn't far behind and Goliath watches them for a while before taking to the air himself and starts his own patrol.

* * *

The server leaves with their orders and menus and Gwen and John sit there in silence, neither one knowing exactly what to say. She decides to take another look at the pictures decorating the walls to try and not make it appear that she's completely tongue tied, but he sees right through it since he's feeling pretty much the same way.

He takes advantage of her distraction and admires the lady across from him, having to admit to himself that she cleans up a lot nicer than he ever expected. Granted, modeling agencies and movie directors aren't going to beat her door down, but she's pretty in her own way. He's still watching her when she reaches up to brush a strand of hair out of her face and his heart nearly stops beating.

"What happened to your arm?" he demands, reaching over and grabbing a hold of her wrist.

"Huh, what?" she asks in confusion until she realizes that he has hold of her arm and is examining it. "Oh, that…um…"

"These puncture wounds look like they were made by talons," he states. "They're definitely not teeth marks and the bruising looks like you were grabbed pretty hard. Unless you were attacked by one of the ostriches, there's no way this happened at work."

"Yes, well, you see…," she stammers, not sure what to tell him or even how.

"Did one of the gargoyles do this to you?" he asks, anger tingeing his words and she makes sure her other arm is out of sight.

"He didn't mean to," she hastily tells him, quickly checking to see if anyone overheard. "It was an accident."

"What was he trying to do, if he didn't do this on purpose?" he questions, a frown wrinkling his forehead.

"He was trying to keep me from walking away," she answers. "How'd you know about the gargoyles?"

"Tony told me," he replies, still holding onto her arm. "Why didn't he want you to walk away?"

"I had just given him a shot to put him under and he wanted me to stay with him until he was out," she quickly explains. "He didn't realize how hard he grabbed me."

"I guess they're pretty strong," he says as he releases her arm and forces himself to relax.

"Very," she confirms, trying to forget the memory of looking down at her more than likely death only a few nights ago. "Can I ask you something?"

"You just did," he points out and she gives him a mock glare to which he grins. "What would you like to know?"

"Why did you ask me out like you did?" she asks. "Why not ask me out like a people normally do?"

"I have been asking you out for nearly three years," he tells her a bit exasperated. "Every time you were too busy with paper work, didn't have the money, didn't have time. I was starting to get a bit desperate."

"When did you ask me out?" she questions, her turn to frown.

"When did I…," he gasps, stunned. "Stop me if any of these sound familiar. Do you want to go get some dinner? Want to see a movie? Let's grab a cup of coffee…"

"Scheißdreck," she mutters as she drops her face into her hands. "You must think I'm such an idiot."

"I'll reserve judgment until after you tell me what happened to your other arm," he says in a slightly strained voice.

She raises her face and looks at him in confusion for a moment before looking down and seeing the arm Angela grabbed with all of its lovely purple and green bruising. She's at least thankful that the puncture wounds aren't nearly as bad as they used to be and she drops her hands back into her lap.

"I'd rather not discuss that in a crowded restaurant, if you don't mind," she quietly replies, staring at the candle on their table instead of him.

"Gwen, I know I don't have the right to tell you how to run your life and I know that for whatever reason you're batty over gargoyles, but please keep in mind that we worry about you," he says after about a minute of quiet. "Me probably more than the others."

"We?" she inquires, finally looking back up at him.

"Everyone on the medical staff and a number of the keepers too," he tells her. "We've kind of adopted you."

"You've adopted me?" she questions, stunned.

"Yeah, we all try to do little things to help you out in little ways," he admits.

"Such as?" she asks.

"You know that bag of trail mix you keep in your desk?" he questions.

"Yeah, so?" she responds.

"Ever wonder why it never runs out?" he asks and she frowns at him for a moment.

"You've been replacing my trail mix with stale trail mix?" she inquires.

"Well, it's not stale when I put it in there," he laughs and she laughs with him.

"So, what else do you guys do?" she asks, not sure how she feels about being a charity case.

"Just little things," he replies. "Nothing major like paying your rent, but little things just to make life a little nicer for you."

"Like what?" she nearly demands, trying to think of what people could be doing for her.

"Nope, not telling," he snickers.

"I'm not sure I'm thrilled about being a charity case," she mutters.

"You're not," he assures her. "Before you came to work at the zoo, we just all were going through the routine, doing our jobs and nothing more. We were all caught up in our little worlds and then you came along and we all got the well deserved boots to the heads that we deserved."

"I don't see how me starting to work at the zoo suddenly changed everyone's lives," she states in confusion. "What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything, you just were," he answers. "Some of us were viewing our jobs as just that, jobs, but you viewed it as a life. The light in your eyes when you first walked into that clinic I just can't describe. The closest I can come is that you looked like a kid in a candy store."

"So I acted like some country bumpkin that's just seen the big lights for the first time," she says. "I still don't see how that got everyone so mother hen on me."

"Don't you see?" he asks. "That's just it. You haven't changed in the three years I've known you; most people become jaded after a few months, but not you. You're still that kid in the candy store every time you walk through those gates. There are people who just come to work to draw a paycheck; you come in every day expecting an adventure. Some of us needed to remember that feeling and our way of thanking you is to take care of you."

"I don't need to be taken care of," she points out, a bit disgruntled. "I'm a big girl now."

"That's why we've had to be sneaky about it," he grins and she has to chuckle.

"I'm not going to get people to stop, am I?" she asks.

"Nope," he says, his grin getting even bigger and all she can do is shake her head.

Luckily, their food arrives and the topic of mother hens gets shelved for the time being.

* * *

"Very pretty," she admits as she leans back into his embrace and sighs happily. "But I don't think this is what Father had in mind when he told us to go on patrol."

"What?" Broadway asks as he waves his hand towards the moonlit park below their perch. "This is great. We're keeping a watch out for muggers and getting a well earned rest. The only thing that would make this even better is if we had managed to bring a picnic."

"You and your stomach," Angela laughs while shaking her head. "We probably should get moving though."

"Alright," he grumbles and then points down to the path. "But let's make sure this couple makes it through ok first."

"Ok," she agrees as the sound of laughter wafts up to them on a cool evening breeze and she leans forward to get a better look at the humans strolling along the path. "That woman almost looks familiar."

"From up here, they all kind of look alike," he replies with a shrug.

"I suppose," she mumbles, a frown creasing her brow as she watches the couple below them.

* * *

"You're joking," Gwen grins as they slowly make their way down the path. "He really tried to ride a gnu?"

"Seriously," John chuckles. "Shortest career at the zoo to date."

"I'm surprised he was able to walk away from the experience," she muses.

"He didn't," he replies and she looks at him in confusion. "He ran out of that pen like his pants were on fire."

"That must have been some sight," she laughs as she shakes her head. "It takes all kinds, I guess."

He doesn't respond, so they continue their moonlit stroll through Central Park in silence. She pulls his suit jacket a little closer around her and she's very glad the had put it on her shoulders since it's pretty cold out. Her feet are throbbing, but she doesn't really care for a change and she's actually hoping the night can last a little bit longer.

"Gwen?" he softly calls her name.

"Hmm?" she replies.

"Can you tell me what happened now?" he asks as he stops in the middle of the path.

"About what?" she questions in confusion while she turns and faces him.

"About this," he says.

He carefully reaches for the arm that Angela damaged and delicately holds onto it as he gently strokes the arm the fingertips of his other hand. She takes a deep breath as a shiver runs up her spine. Why does that have to feel so good?

"Gwen?" he says and she briefly looks up into his eyes before dropping them down again.

She quietly tells him what happened on Monday, leaving nothing out and unable to bring her eyes any higher than the knot in his tie. She knows that he won't like the fact that she trusted a complete stranger with her life and then put herself in a very dangerous situation. But she refuses to apologize for her actions and she needs him to understand that it is her life to run, not his.

For his part, he remains quiet as she tells her tale and not even his body language tells her what he's feeling. When she's done, they stand there in silence as he digests what she's told him. He continues stroking her arm and she closes her eyes to fully enjoy his touch. She's known for years that he can be very gentle, but had never experienced it before. It's very lulling and when he stops, she nearly moans at the loss of his touch.

"I can't say as I'm happy that you willing went into that situation," he starts quietly. "But as you pointed out earlier, you are a grown woman and I have no right to tell you what to do with your life. But as someone who cares very deeply for you, I hope you never do that again."

"I doubt that Angela's going to be mating again anytime soon and since she now knows that I don't mean her or her clan any harm, I doubt she's going to try and drop me over the side of a building again," she replies, finally looking up into his hazel eyes and smiling.

"Good," he softly states as he brings a hand up gently strokes the side of her face. "I don't want to hate gargoyles, but it's really hard to like creatures that intentionally hurt you."

"Brooklyn didn't realize what he was doing," she reminds him as he steps closer to her and her heart starts beating faster.

"So you said," he whispers as he brings his face closer to hers.

One arm sneaks under the borrowed jacket and wraps around her waist while the other hand gently cradles her face. She knows she should tell him 'no', she knows she should push him away, but for whatever reason, her brain isn't functioning properly anymore. She's pretty sure that her heart is going to burst right out of her chest and her legs are going to give out at any second while she can feel his breath caress her face. Dear lord, when did he start smelling so good? She can feel his warmth on her lips and slightly tilts her head back just as all hell breaks loose next to them.

* * *

**Author's notes:** How about that? The muse is finally giving me ideas for my stories other than the X-Men one I've been working on, so I ran with it. I know there's not a lot of Gargoyle goodness in this chapter, but they'll be back in full force next one. As always, please review. 


	25. Date's End

**Author's Notes**: Well, just as promised, lots of Gargoyle goodness in this chapter along with plenty of action. Please remember that this story is rated T for language. Just to let you know, when you see dialog like (_this_), someone is speaking in German. Thanks to all of my reviewers so far and please leave one when you're done reading.

* * *

"So, think they're done eating yet?" Brooklyn asks as he and Lex glide over Fifth Ave.

"Wouldn't hurt to swing by and check up on them," Lex replies.

"No, it wouldn't," Brooklyn agrees as he tilts his wings to make the turn, relishing the feel of the wind sliding past his wings.

A few minutes later, they're flying low over Rockefeller Plaza but they don't spot the couple they're looking for.

"Maybe we should double check, just to be sure," Brooklyn suggests.

"Sounds good to me," Lex responds and the two loop back around for another pass.

Three passes later and they finally catch sight of the couple walking out of the plaza and turning down Fifth Ave. The young gargoyles hop from building to building as the couple slowly makes their way down the street, occasionally stopping to look at something in a store front window. They watch as Gwen runs her hands up and down her arms to try and warm herself up and then see her date immediately slide his jacket off and place it on her shoulders. She smiles at the man she's with and he looks like the happiest man in the world.

"She didn't smile at Matt like that," Lex observes from their latest perch.

"I wonder who he is," Brooklyn muses as the humans they're watching cross the street and head into Central Park.

The two gargoyles take to the air again carefully landing in the park just out of sight of the path. They creep among the trees, staying to the shadows as they follow Gwen and her date as they walk along the path next to The Pond. Just as they're getting to a large rocky outcropping, Gwen and the man stop and she turns to face him. He pulls one her arms towards him and starts to stroke it as she begins telling him something that takes some time. Brooklyn and Lex sneak closer to them and hear her as she finishes telling her date about her first meeting with the Clan and the two gargoyles cringe at the memory.

"I can't say as I'm happy that you willingly went into that situation," the man finally says quietly. "But as you pointed out earlier, you are a grown woman and I have no right to tell you what to do with your life. But as someone who cares very deeply for you, I hope you never do that again."

"I doubt that Angela's going to be mating again anytime soon and since she now knows that I don't mean her or her clan any harm, I doubt she's going to try and drop me over the side of a building again," Gwen replies looking up at him and smiling.

"Good," he softly states as he brings a hand up and gently strokes the side of her face. "I don't want to hate gargoyles, but it's really hard to like creatures that intentionally hurt you."

"Brooklyn didn't realize what he was doing," she replies.

"So you said," he whispers as he brings his face closer to hers.

"He's going to kiss her," Lex hisses as they watch, unable to tear their eyes away from this rather private moment.

So transfixed are they, that they never see it coming.

* * *

"I swear I know that woman," Angela mutters as she crawls over the rocky outcropping she and Broadway have been sitting on.

"Other than Elisa and Fox, how many women do you know?" Broadway asks as he reluctantly starts to follow his mate.

She ignores him as she stares at the couple as the man starts stroking one of the woman's arms and she begins to talk. She talks for quite a while, never quite looking up at her companion's face. When she's done, they stand there in silence for a while and then realization dawns on Angela.

"It's that vet that fixed Brooklyn's wing," she states, rather proud of herself.

"How can you be sure?" Broadway questions as squints at the human couple.

"Well, for one thing, her arm is badly bruised and it's the same arm that I had hold of when I nearly dropped her off of the side of the castle," she answers.

"Not one of your better moments," Broadway mumbles and she silently agrees with him.

"For another thing," she continues with a smirk, "why else would Brooklyn and Lex be spying on them?"

Broadway looks to where she's pointing and sees his rookery brothers eagerly watching the humans. He chuckles as she turns and grins at him and then he quickly glances over at the human couple.

"He's about to kiss her," he whispers as one of his arms sneaks around her waist.

"I can't say as I blame them," she replies coyly, looking down at the other couple. "A moonlit night, a stroll through the park…"

"Can't say I blame them either," he nearly purrs as he turns her face towards him and their lips gently meet.

The kiss deepens and they lose track of what's going on around them as their focus narrows down to just the two of them. They only break apart when the roaring starts.

* * *

Anger and frustration fill her being as she glides high over the city, intent on causing someone some pain, preferably Goliath or better yet, that _human_. If the little bitch hadn't had a gun with her, she would have been torn from Goliath's arms and sent plummeting to her death that night while Goliath eased her need to mate. If she had been thinking clearly that night, it wouldn't have been a contest.

For centuries she's endured the mating pangs, knowing that there was no chance of her finding a mate to ease them. Not that she's really interested in laying another egg, much less raising the little whelp that would eventually hatch from it, but when one is in the midst of the Cycle, one doesn't think about those things. She supposes that she should be glad that it only happens only once every fifty years for her, instead of the once every ten years that Angela will have to endure.

When she brought the Book to Xanatos all those years ago, she knew that she would be having another Cycle after Wyvern Castle had been moved and the Clan awoken from their thousand year sleep. Her plans were to have Goliath and the Clan completely under her control by the time her Cycle started, but the blasted male had met that _human_ and gone all noble on her. A growl resonates through her chest as the memory of him reaching to save that _human_ instead of trying to save his proper mate resurfaces in her mind.

A flash of yellow and red catches her attention from the corner of her eye and she turns to see Lexington and Brooklyn gliding into Central park. Curiosity and the need for revenge make her follow them from far enough away that they don't notice her. Centuries of surviving by her wits makes it nearly impossible for them to detect her, not that they're really paying attention to what's going on around them.

They seem intent on a human couple that they're following and she takes a look at them to see what could be so interesting about them. The female is maybe five foot if she didn't have her shoes on and the male is several inches short of the six foot mark. She's a mousy looking thing with her brown hair and eyes and the male is only slightly better with sandy blond hair and hazel eyes. She doesn't see what it is about these two worthless beings that have the two males so fascinated, but if it keeps them from noticing her, that's fine by her.

She creeps closer and closer until she can hear the humans talking about the Clan and her first meeting with them. Angela nearly dropped the female over the side of the castle? Maybe there's hope for her daughter yet.

"He's going to kiss her," she hears Lexington hiss and she knows now is her chance to strike.

Without a second thought, she strikes faster than a snake and before either of the two can react, Lexington is firmly in her talons and struggling to get free as she slowly cuts off his air. With a roar of anger, Brooklyn is after her like a shot and they pass the startled human couple without so much as glancing at them. She heads for the rocky outcropping only to be suddenly stopped by her own daughter and that big fat oaf of a mate of hers.

A quick look around and she realizes that no matter which way she goes, one of the others will be able to cut her off from escaping. She lets out a frustrated growl as Lexington continues to struggle and his talons leave gouges in her arm that heal within a matter of seconds. She simply tightens her grip around his neck and quickly starts to subdue.

"Mother, what are you doing?" Angela demands.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Demona sarcastically retorts. "I'm paying Goliath back for all the pain and suffering and humiliation he's caused me."

"You brought that on yourself," Broadway snaps, his eyes glowing white.

"Let him go Demona," Brooklyn growls and she smirks.

"I don't think so," she sneers as Lex gasps for air. "I think if you want to see your little friend again…"

**WHAP!**

Demona looks down to see what just hit her in the head and she sees a high heeled shoe. She looks over to where the shoe came from and sees the mousy looking woman holding the shoe's mate in her hand and trembling with rage. She's not sure who's more surprised, her, the other gargoyles or the human's male companion.

"(_That was for Jet, you bitch_)," Gwen growls.

"You're pretty brave for a human," Demona admits and then her eyes start to glow red. "But maybe I shouldn't confuse bravery with stupidity. You _will_ pay for that."

"(_They treated you as one of their own and you betrayed them_)," Gwen snarls, her voice shaking with anger. "(_If anyone's going to pay, it's going to be you._)"

"I don't know what your saying, _human_, but I don't like your tone," Demona growls as she turns and faces the small human.

Before the other gargoyles can react, Demona launches herself at the diminutive woman, dropping Lex in her haste. John grabs for Gwen just as she dashes towards Demona, only barely evading his grasp. The man watches in horror as Gwen ducks under Demona's talons and slams her shoulder into the female gargoyle's midsection, knocking the wind out of her.

They both go down like a ton of bricks as Gwen screams in pain and curls up into a ball, clutching her foot. Demona reaches for the woman and finds her arms suddenly grabbed and held tightly. With a snarl, she turns towards the one who would dare grab her and comes face to face with her red eyed, growling daughter.

"Leave her alone, Mother," Angela snarls as Brooklyn grabs Gwen off of Demona and practically throws her to John as the man comes running up.

Demona twists her hands around, grabs hold of Angela's wrists and throws her into Broadway as he comes to his mate's aide, sending them both to the ground. Demona springs to her feet as Lex flings himself at her landing on her back and sinking his talons into her flesh. While she struggles to get Lex off of her, Brooklyn grabs one her wings in both hands and snaps the bones.

Demona shrieks in pain as she gets a hold of Lex and flings him into Brooklyn. She gives her wing a shake and the bones pop back in place and quickly start to mend. She turns to make a break for it and sees the humans under one of the lamps that lights the path, the man is checking the woman's foot. With a growl, the angry female charges towards them and the woman eyes grow wide when she sees what's coming at them.

"**JOHN**!" Gwen screams, trying to push him away.

John turns to see what's got her so scared and barely blocks Demona's attack, her talons managing to leave their mark on his upper arm. John yells in pain as he lands a punch on her face and she snarls angrily as blood drips out of her nose. She lunges at him and he grabs a hold of her arm and flips her onto her back.

Demona looks over and sees Gwen only a few feet away. With a scream of anger, she launches herself at the woman only to be kicked in the head by John. She shakes her head clear and then leaps at the man just as Brooklyn tackles her to the ground.

They roll around a few seconds before she manages to break free by taking a swipe at Brooklyn's face and leaving a couple of cuts on the red gargoyle's beak. She sees the others coming for her and she quickly makes her escape. A few seconds later they hear her scream of anger and frustration as she takes to the skies once more.

Those still on the ground spend a few seconds catching their breath before John returns to Gwen, dropping down to his knees in front of her, not caring if he ruins his slacks. He gently lifts the foot she's clutching and takes a better look at it, ignoring the blood dripping onto his hands and pants. Off in the distance they can hear sirens blaring and the gargoyles know that they should be leaving soon, but aren't quite ready to go yet.

"I can't see anything in there, but you're going to need stitches," he tells her as he pulls his handkerchief out of his pocket and places it on the wound on the bottom of her foot.

"What happened to her foot?" Brooklyn asks while he moves closer to the humans.

"I stepped on something," Gwen whimpers as John applies pressure with one hand and pulls his tie off with the other.

"It looks like a piece of glass or a sharp rock is what got you," John adds while he ties his makeshift compress to her foot.

"Looks like Demona got you, too," Lex points out as John's sleeve is quickly becoming soaked with blood.

Before John can respond, Gwen reaches over, grabs the front of his shirt where it's buttoned up and rips it open, sending buttons flying everywhere.

"Don't you think you should wait until I get you home before you start ripping my clothes off?" he jokes and she glares at him.

"Off, now," she orders and he smirks.

"Yes, Dr. Knight," he replies as he easily slips one arm out of the ruined shirt, but the other one takes a little bit longer.

"Someone rip the sleeves off of the shirt, please," Gwen commands.

Brooklyn complies after taking the shirt from John, handing the pieces to Gwen when he's done. She quickly takes the larger piece of cloth and folds it up until it's big enough to cover the three talon marks in his bicep. He winces as she uses the sleeves to secure his compress to his wound and they can hear yelling in the distance.

"Brooklyn, Lexington, come here please," Gwen requests and the two flank John as they come up to her.

John can feel his heart starting to pound and the adrenaline starting to flow being so close to these beings. It doesn't help that one of their kind was trying to hurt her and did manage to do damage to him. He eyes them a bit suspiciously and they stare right back with the same amount of trust.

"So, who's your friend?" Lex finally asks as Gwen checks Brooklyn's beak.

"This is John," she replies distractedly. "John, this is Brooklyn and Lexington. The scratches aren't very deep and are already starting to scab over. You'll be fine until dawn."

"So, how'd you guys meet?" Brooklyn asks as she turns her attention to Lex.

"We work together," she answers as she practically pulls Lex into her lap to examine his neck. "Looks like there's some bruising, but luckily her talons didn't go very deep. You'll be fine too."

"Thanks, doc," Lex smiles at her.

"You're welcome," she replies with a smile of her own. "You guys should get going, I can hear people headed this way."

"You two going to be alright?" Brooklyn questions.

"We'll be fine," she assures him as she pats his shoulder. "Now get going."

Reluctantly, the young males leave them and start to scale the outcropping as Angela and Broadway step up to the humans. John manages not to show his nervousness of these large beings as they approach them, or more importantly, Gwen. He resists the urge to put himself between them and the woman and quietly watches as Angela hands Gwen her shoes back.

"I'm sorry about trying to drop you over the side of the castle and about your arm," Angela says as Gwen takes her shoes.

"It's ok," Gwen replies with a smile that's becoming a bit strained. "Thanks for picking up my shoes."

"Here, you dropped these too," Broadway says as he hands John's jacket and Gwen's wrap back to the couple.

"Thank you, Broadway," Gwen replies as she takes the items.

The gargoyle couple quickly follows their clan mates, soaring off into the night a few moments later. Before she can object, he takes his jacket and puts it over her shoulders again. He tries not to wince as what can only be described as a searing pain runs through his arm and shoulders.

"What are you doing?" she asks as he settles the jacket around her shoulders.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he counters, trying not to snicker.

"You need this more than I do," she states and starts trying to shrug out of it.

"No, you wear it," he insists, grabbing a hold of the lapels so she can't get out of it despite the pain in his arm. "I'll be fine."

"Are you nuts?" she demands. "You don't even have a shirt on."

"Yes, I am," he grins as he points at his bleeding arm and its makeshift bandage. "It's right here."

"Klugscheißer," she grumbles at him and he laughs.

"One of these days I'm going to learn German just so I know what swear words you're using," he tells her as he carefully sits down beside her.

"Like they're going to be teaching _those_ words in a classroom," she snickers while he puts his arm around her shoulders and pulls her towards him. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asks as the first of New York's finest appear down the path from them.

"For our date getting ruined," she answers as the adrenalin starts to leave her body and she can feel her body start to shake from the shock.

"It's ok," he replies as he holds her even closer.

"It is?" she asks while trying to turn and look at him.

"Yeah," he smirks and he looks down at her with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Now you have to go out with me again to make up for this one."


	26. Back Home

Goliath returns to the castle with the rising sun soon to make an appearance. He sees the others together on one of the turrets and he lands nearby. When the others turn to look at him, Brooklyn and Lex's injuries are immediately apparent.

"What happened?" Goliath demands stepping closer to his clan mates.

"We had a run in with Demona," Brooklyn snarls, his tail lashing through the air.

"Where did this happen?" Goliath asks.

"In Central Park," Lex answers, still upset by the memory. "She had me by the neck."

"If it hadn't been for that lady doctor, Demona might have killed Lex," Broadway adds and Brooklyn and Lex both cringe.

"Lady doctor?" Goliath questions, the sound of disapproval in his voice.

"Yeah, the one that fixed Brooklyn's wing," Broadway clarifies and Goliath glares at the two injured males.

"We will discuss this at sunset," Goliath growls just before taking his spot on the wall.

The others follow suit with Brooklyn taking the spot right next to Goliath.

"Goliath, there's something you should know," Brooklyn reluctantly says, keeping his voice down so the others won't hear.

"What's that?" Goliath replies, a bit of a growl still in his voice.

"I think Gwen knows Demona," Brooklyn states and the look of surprise gets frozen to Goliath's face with the morning's first light.

* * *

He knows he's only got a little time before he has to leave to be at the theater for the Sunday matinee show. So he's just going to pop in, get the Cliff notes version of her date and then off he'll be. He knocks first and when there's no answer, he lets himself in with his key.

"Gwen?" he calls, doing a quick look around the apparently empty apartment for her.

He doesn't hear her shower going and the bathroom door is open, so he knows she's not in the bathroom. He quietly slips in, smiling to himself that she might have finally gotten her breakfast in bed. He closes the door behind himself and goes to check one last place, hoping he won't find her. With a disappointed sigh, he finds a Gwen sized lump under the covers of her bed.

"Really, sugar, it's nearly noon," he grumbles as he gently pokes her. "Wake up. I need some juicy tidbits about your date with John before I go to work."

She is either ignoring him or is really asleep. He pokes her again with the same result and he does a quick check to make sure that not only is she really in the pile of bed clothes but that she's breathing. Once he's sure she's just sleeping, he grabs hold of her foot and gives it a good shaking.

**_"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH,"_** she shrieks at the top of her lungs, instantly wide awake and in a great deal of pain.

She grabs her foot and curls protectively around it as she whimpers and cries in agonizing pain. It feels like her foot is on fire and the searing pain travels up her leg leaving no room for coherent thought. It's not until the pain is down to just throbbing in her foot is she able to take in her surroundings. Lars is holding and rocking her as one would a child and she wishes it was another strong man she knows doing this before she gives herself a mental smack.

"Why are you here, Lars?" she asks, sniffing and wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"I came by to see how your date went," he answers as he slides her off of his lap. "What happened to your foot?"

"I stepped on a piece of glass and had to get stitches put into it," she replies, whimpering when she accidentally bangs her foot on the bed.

"What happened to your shoe?" he asks.

"I threw it at an evil das miststück gargoyle," she explains as she tries to crawl back under the covers. 

"A what gargoyle?" he questions. "Never mind, I think I can figure it out. I thought gargoyles were good guys."

"Most humans are good people, but there's an occasional rotten apple in the barrel," she points out while she carefully snuggles back under the blankets. "Gargoyles are no different."

"How'd you know this one is evil?" he inquires as he easily gets to his feet when she pushes him off of her bed.

"She had Lex by the throat and was saying that she was doing it to get back at Goliath for all of the humiliation and whatnot he's caused her," she tells him and lets out a huge yawn. "Now go away. I want to sleep."

"Have you eaten?" he demands, hands firmly planted on hips.

"Not hungry," she grumbles as she lies down and gets as comfortable as possible.

"When did you last eat?" he questions, with no intentions of going anywhere.

"Dinner," she mumbles as she closes her eyes. "Go away, Lars, I'm tired."

He glares at her, silently daring her to fall asleep again and to his amazement, she does. He heads out and as he's passing the kitchen he notices a couple of white prescription bottles and a pair of crutches that he somehow missed before. He picks them up and reads the labels, finding that she's on some serious pain killers and antibiotics.

He quickly rushes back down to his apartment and makes her a lunch of a sandwich, salad and soup. He returns to her place, puts everything in the fridge and leaves a note next to her drugs letting her know. Then he's off to the theater at lightening speed, knowing he's going to be late and the director is just going to have kittens, but he doesn't care, friends come first.

* * *

She's not sure exactly how long she's been asleep, but the need for a bathroom and food finally drive her out from under the covers. After taking care of her needs in the bathroom, she hops into the kitchen and looks at the bottles of drugs she's supposed to be taking. There's something extra there and as she tries to force her eyes to focus on the piece of paper, there's a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" she croaks and suddenly realizes she's very thirsty.

"Gwen?" Lars asks after quickly checking to make sure he has the right apartment and the door opens a short time later.

"Me Gwen," she says, pointing to herself before pointing to him. "You Lars."

"Ha ha, very funny," he retorts as he steps towards her and she has to hop backwards to get out of his way causing him to reach for her. "Here, let me help you."

"I can manage on my own," she grumbles irritably as she slaps his hands away, turns and hops back into the kitchen.

"I know you can, sweetie, but I just want to make sure you found the food I left you," he assures her.

"What food?" she asks, slightly appeased.

"I put it in the fridge," he tells her as he goes to the appliance. "Didn't you get my note?"

"I just got up," she replies and his jaw drops open.

"You've been in bed all day?" he asks in shock.

"I didn't get home until really late last night," she snarls as she hobbles over to the counter where her medication is waiting for her. "Now go away. I want to eat my food, take my drugs and go back to bed."

"Wow, you're cranky," he states in surprise.

"Ya think?" she snaps. "It's not bad enough I've sliced my foot open, but then my _friend_ comes in and decides to wake me up by grabbing that foot. Be glad I'm too groggy to beat you with one of my crutches."

"Have you eaten at all today?" he questions, eyes narrowed.

"What part of 'I just got up' did you miss?" she growls as she picks up the first bottle and starts trying to open it.

"In that case, no drugs until you eat something," he states as he grabs the bottle out of her hands and quickly snatches the other one before she has a chance to move. "I read the labels on these earlier and they say take with food."

Before she can tell him where to stick it, the buzzer goes off and they both turn to look at the speaker on the wall.

"Who the hell could that be?" she demands as she starts hopping towards it only to have Lars beat her there.

"Who is it?" Lars asks in a falsetto voice.

"Gwen?" John's tinny voice counter questions.

"Hey, John, come on up," Lars happily replies as he pushes the release button for the building's front door.

"What'd you do that for?" she demands.

"Because if I can't get a report out of you how your date went, I might be able to get it out of him," he gleefully replies. "You might want to put some pants on, unless of course you want to send John the wrong message."

"In case you missed it, I'm not exactly the most mobile person in town," she snarls as she balances on one foot wearing not much more than her night shirt.

"Ok, fine, I'll get you some pants," he huffs as he heads for her bedroom. "But don't expect me to get you a bra too."

"You touch one of my bras and I'll tell everyone you're straight," she warns as she slowly and painfully makes her way to a chair.

"You really know how to hurt a person," he yells back as he briefly rummages through her dresser and then comes back out a few moments later. "You need help with these?"

"I can still dress myself, thank you," she growls as she snatches the sweats he offers her from his hands.

"Touchy," he huffs, her attitude starting to get on his nerves.

She just scowls at him as she gets her sweat pants on a bit clumsily. She only just gets them over her hips when there's a knock at her door. Before she can object, Lars opens it to John and lets the other man in.

"Hey, Lars," John hastily greets, not even looking at the other man as he brushes past him to get to Gwen. "What are you doing out of bed? You should be getting some rest."

"I would be if Lars hadn't stolen my drugs," she pouts.

"Why'd you take her drugs?" John demands as he turns on Lars.

"Because she hasn't eaten anything all day," Lars retorts with a huff, crossing his arms over his chest and eyeing the sling that John's arm is in. "I'll make you two a deal, I'll make dinner, but you two are going to have to tell me about your date in lurid detail."

"What's there to tell?" John questions with a one shouldered shrug. "She stepped on a piece of glass and I got attacked by some psycho monster."

"It's ok, John, Lars knows about the gargoyles," she tells him.

"Perhaps you should tell me how you know them," John strongly suggests.

"How about we all go down to my place and then we can have story time," Lars puts in as he comes over to Gwen.

"I don't want to go down there," she replies testily. "Walking isn't my strong suit today."

"That's why I'm going to carry you," Lars tells her as he puts action to words before she can object. "John, would you mind making sure her door is locked?"

With that, Lars sweeps out the door with Gwen in his arms before either of the injured people can protest and before they know it, they're down in Lars apartment having story time.

* * *

"I wonder what Brooklyn told Goliath to get that look on his face," Elisa quietly muses, looking up at her still sleeping mate.

"I don't know, but it must have been a whopper," Matt chuckles as the last rays of the sun disappear from the sky.

The detectives shield their faces with raised arms as stone shards go zinging past their heads. They brush off any stray shards that may have gotten caught on their clothes as the clan hops down from their perches. Goliath steps up to Elisa and gently removes a few pieces of stone skin from her hair and they smile at each other as Brooklyn and Lex get ready to take off.

"That's far enough, you two," Goliath orders, not even bothering to look at the two young males trying to make their escapes. "Tell me everything that happened last night."

"Everything?" Lex meekly asks.

"Everything," Goliath commands, finally turning towards them with his eyes narrowed.

Lex and Brooklyn briefly look at each other and then with a sigh, Brooklyn tells their leader about the night before with help from Lex, Broadway and Angela. The humans listen in fascination as the story unfolds and then they briefly look at each other.

"That explains the report we got last night," Elisa states, drawing the attention of the gargoyles. "It seems a Dr. Gwendolyn Knight and Mr. John Richards were attacked last night in Central Park by a red haired monster with glowing red eyes. Both were injured and were taken to a nearby hospital where she received seven stitches in her foot for stepping on a piece of broken glass and he received thirty-two stitches in his arm from injuries sustained from either claws or talons."

" Brooklyn says he thinks Gwen knows Demona," Goliath states, a frown creasing his brow.

"That's ridiculous," Lex scoffs. "How could they possibly know each other?"

"You heard Gwen, she was screaming something at Demona and she was really, _really_ angry," Brooklyn retorts. "What human in their right mind would throw their shoe at Demona and then tackle her?"

"Why don't you ask her?" Elisa suggests. "The report said that she was driven home by one of the blue and whites after the hospital released her. I doubt she's going to be doing much of anything with a stitched up foot."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Goliath replies with a nod. " Lexington, Brooklyn, come with me, the rest of you I want out on patrol."

"Yes, Father," Angela replies as she and Broadway immediately head for the wall and take to the air.

"Remember, lad, there may well be a good reason for what she did," Hudson cautions before he too takes flight.

"Would you care to join us?" Goliath asks, turning back to the humans.

"No, that's ok," Elisa answers before Matt can open his mouth and then steps up to the large Gargoyle to speak to him quietly. "Come by my place later to let me know how things went?"

"As you wish," he softly responds before turning to the remaining two gargoyles. "Alright you two, let's go."

A moment later, Goliath, Brooklyn and Lexington can be seen gliding away in the night and Elisa watches them just a bit longer then necessary. Meanwhile, Bronx gives a sad whine and plops down with his chin on the wall to watch for his clan mates.

"Poor guy," Matt mutters, watching the hound. "Left all alone up here every night. Maybe we should take him with us. Bet he'd be a great help chasing down the bad guys.

"No way," Elisa laughs as she heads for the stairs. "Could you see us trying to fill out a report explaining how or even why we brought him along? The chief would have our hides for sure."

"It was just a thought," he replies with a shrug as he follows her. "Speaking of the Bronx, maybe we should patrol that area tonight. There are some pretty seedy neighborhoods in that area."

"I don't think so," she snickers. "We're not just going to happen be in the neighborhood when Goliath starts grilling Gwen about whether or not she knows Demona."

"Hey, it's just a thought," he repeats and she just shakes her head as they make their way through the castle.


	27. Grumpy

**Author's Notes:** My apologies for another long wait. I swear I have to beat these updates out of my muse. At any rate, please enjoy.

* * *

"Goliath," Lex softly calls out as his clan leader raises his hand to pound on Gwen's apartment door again. "Maybe Gwen is down at Lars apartment."

"Perhaps," Goliath grumbles, his fist still raised, ready to pound on that hapless piece of wood once more.

"Why don't we go check?" Brooklyn suggests. "Even if she's not there, maybe he can let us into her apartment to wait for her. I know he has a spare key."

"Very well," Goliath grudgingly agrees as he lowers his arm and the two younger gargoyles quickly head down the stairs.

By the time Goliath reaches Lars' door, the man is already opening the portal to the other two. After a brief greeting, Lars ushers them in where they find Gwen sitting on the couch with her foot propped up on a pillow on the coffee table. Beside her is a man with his arm in a sling that Goliath doesn't recognize and he stops to stare suspiciously at the man only to have his gaze returned measure for measure.

"Goliath, John, John, Goliath," Gwen states as a way of introductions. "Now either you two stop glowering at each other or so help me I'll get a tranquilizer gun and dart somebody."

The gargoyles stare at the small woman in surprise with their mouths hanging open.

"She's just a tad cranky because her foot hurts," Lars explains in a stage whisper.

"Well, if someone hadn't stolen my pain meds, then I might not be so cranky," she snaps, glaring at her friend.

"Gwen, you need to eat something first," John gently reminds her and she lets out a huff before crossing her arms over her chest and sulking.

"Doctor's make the worst patients," Lars tells the gargoyles while he heads for the kitchen.

"Slice your foot open and then let's see how happy-go-lucky you are," she yells at his retreating back.

"See?" Lars self righteously states as he disappears into the kitchen.

"Are you going to be alright?" Lex quietly asks as he carefully moves closer to Gwen.

"Yeah, I'll be ok," she assures her small friend in a slightly shaky voice. "It just hurts a lot. Wish I had your guys' ability to heal so quickly."

"I'm sorry you got hurt," Brooklyn adds, coming behind the couch to stand near her.

"It wasn't your fault," she replies as she looks over at him. "I was the one who was foolish enough to go running around Central Park without any shoes on."

"Why did you throw your shoe at Demona?" Lex questions as he climbs up onto the couch next to her.

"She was hurting you and I couldn't find a rock," she answers. "So I threw what I had on hand, or foot as the case may be."

"Where'd you learn to tackle like that?" Brooklyn inquires as he leans against the back of the couch.

"You don't grow up with three older and much bigger brothers who enjoy tormenting their little sister and not learn a few moves to defend yourself," she replies, managing a small smile through the pain.

"What were you yelling at Demona?" Lex asks, settling himself down on the couch cushion.

"Nothing I'd repeat in front my mother," she responds with a little chuckle and the two young gargoyles snicker along with her.

Goliath watches on in silence, but it's not his clan mates or even Gwen he's keeping an eye on. He keeps his gaze on the man sitting silently next to the doctor, never saying a word but nervously eyeing Brooklyn and Lex, shifting ever so slightly to be ready to move at a moments notice. Goliath recognizes John for what he is, a male wanting to protect his mate, but not wanting to upset her. Begrudgingly, Goliath must admit to himself if no one else, he knows exactly how the man feels.

"So, where'd you learn to fight like that?" Brooklyn asks John and the man stares back at the gargoyle for a couple of seconds before answering.

"I'm a black belt in tae kwon do," John replies quickly.

"How do you know Demona?" Goliath asks out of the blue.

"Before last night, I'd never seen her before in my life," she answers, turning her attention to the large gargoyle.

"Then why did you attack her?" Goliath demands and he can see John shifting around in his seat again.

"She was hurting a friend of mine," she replies, resting a hand on Lex's shoulder. "Do I need a better reason than that?"

"No," Goliath grudgingly admits. "But next time, leave our enemies to us."

"Not a problem," she readily agrees.

"Are you guys staying for dinner?" Lars asks as he comes sashaying out with a couple plates of food in his hand.

"No, thank you," Goliath answers as he turns towards the door. "Come, you two. We have work to do."

Without another word, Goliath turns and walks out the door of the apartment, never even looking back. Brooklyn and Lex quickly say their goodbyes to Gwen and Lars and then hurriedly follow their leader, quietly shutting the door behind them. As soon as the door clicks shut, John lets out a breath that he didn't even realize he had been holding and he can feel the tension leaving his shoulders.

"Are you alright?" she asks as she accepts a plate from Lars.

"Yeah, I'm fine," John answers a bit tersely, taking his own plate in his good hand.

"I think I've known you long enough to know when something is upsetting you," she points out as she lays her plate on her lap. "So what's wrong?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it," he replies, still a bit testy while he puts his dinner on his lap and starts eating. "Eat your dinner."

"It's the gargoyles, isn't it?" she asks, her food nearly forgotten. "You don't like them."

"Gwen, it's not…," he starts but stops when he sees her staring rather intently at him. "Yeah, I'm having a problem accepting that you're friends with creatures that have hurt you and I can't say I'm really happy with you picking a fight with one who's obviously psychotic."

"Ok, you've got me on the psychotic one," she grudgingly admits. "Not one of my brighter moments."

"No, it wasn't," he agrees whole heartedly.

"Thanks a lot," she huffs, going back to sulking as she pushes the food on her plate around with her fork.

"Gwen…," he starts and she shifts slightly away from him as best she can.

"Ok, kids, eat up," Lars happily orders as he returns from the kitchen with his own plate of food. "After that, then you two can talk about gargoyles."

Gwen gives a Lars a good hard glare but he just ignores her as he plants his buns on the side opposite of her from John on the couch.

"Eat up, little missy, or so help me I'll repaint your apartment at three in the morning," Lars cheerfully warns her.

With a huff and a pout, she starts to eat her dinner, completely ignoring the men on either side of her.

* * *

A couple of hours later, a well fed and medicated Gwen is returned to her apartment in the arms of her best friend, with John following behind. Lars carefully sets her down on her good foot near the bathroom door and she immediately leans against the wall for support. She's already half asleep, the codeine starting to take an effect and she rests her head against the wall as she closes her eyes.

"Do you need anything else, sugar?" Lars asks.

"No, I just want to sleep," she mumbles a few seconds later when his words finally penetrate her brain. "Not sure how I'm going to survive work tomorrow."

"WHAT!?" John and Lars yell in unison, startling her enough to make her open her eyes and look at them.

"You are _not_ going to work tomorrow," John tells her forcefully.

"Excuse me?" she demands, shaking off some of the drug that's clouding her brain. "Who died and made you the boss? If memory serves me correctly, I'm _your_ superior. After all, I'm the one who went and got the medical degree, not you."

"Hold it right there, the two of you," Lars interrupts, stepping between them. "You're both tired and cranky so you better stop now before either one of you says something that you will regret in the morning. John, why don't you come back tomorrow morning and see how she's doing? If she still insists on going to work, you can at least drive her so she doesn't have to go the whole way on crutches. Gwen, honey, it's time for bed and I want you to seriously think about taking tomorrow off."

"If I take tomorrow off, the only vet there will be Lily, Tony has tomorrow off," Gwen says, sagging against the wall again."

"The reason we normally have two vets on at a time is in case one of them can't make it in," John tells her. "If there's an emergency, she'll call Tony."

"But I should be there," she weakly argues, the drugs taking a hold of her again.

"You should get some rest and let your foot heal," John gently tells her as he squeezes past Lars.

"But…," she tries to say only to be stopped by his finger on her lips.

"The zoo and the animals will all be there when you get back," he quietly assures her, barely noticing Lars slipping out the front door.

"What if they find that they don't need me?" she softly suggests after pulling his hand away.

"Of course they need you," he replies with a smile as strokes her cheek with the back of his fingers. "That's why they hired you in the first place."

"You're going to kiss me now, aren't you?" she whispers, not even realizing that she's staring at his lips.

"No, I'm not going to kiss you," he answers and she's not sure if she's relieved or disappointed.

"Oh," she says in a small voice, sounding a bit more disappointed than she means to.

"Want to know why?" he whispers in her ear and she can feel goose bumps forming all over her body.

"Why?" she nearly squeaks.

"I refuse to kiss you when your brain is fogged up by drugs," he tells her as he smiles to himself. "Because when I do kiss you, I want you to be able to remember every second of it."

"Oh," she squeaks and she's pretty sure her goose bumps have goose bumps now.

"Why don't you get ready for bed and I'll help you into your bedroom," he suggests as he steps away from her.

She doesn't trust herself to speak, so she simply nods and then hobbles into the bathroom. A few minutes later she emerges and finds him waiting patiently for her return. He steps up to her, places one of her arms across his shoulders, wraps his uninjured arm around her waist and then lifts her up.

She gives a small squeak of surprise as her feet leave the floor and he tries not to wince when she instinctually grabs the shoulder right above his stitches. He carefully maneuvers the two of them down the narrow hallway into her small bedroom. He gently sets her back down on her feet next to the small bed and she gratefully sinks down onto the mattress.

"Thank you, John," she says as she crawls back under the covers.

"You're welcome," he replies as he tucks her in. "Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm good," she responds with a yawn.

"Ok, then I'll see you in the morning," he tells her as he goes to turn off the light.

Her only response is a mumbled 'goodnight' as the room goes dark and he smiles again. He quietly turns off the lights in the apartment before letting himself out, locking the door behind him as best as he can. He turns around and is nearly startled out of his wits by Lars standing there with a smile on his lips.

"Jesus Christ, Lars, you just about gave me a heart attack," John nearly snaps.

"Sorry," Lars replies, not really sounding it though as he goes to lock up her apartment the rest of the way. "She all tucked in?"

"Yeah, she's probably asleep by now," John tells him.

"That's good," Lars says as he turns back around. "I've got room at my place if you want to crash there."

"No, that's ok," John replies while they start to make their way down the stairs. "I'll just come back in the morning."

"She normally leaves around nine, just so you know," Lars warns him.

"Don't worry, I plan on being here bright and early in case she tries to sneak off to work," John assures him.

"Good plan," Lars agrees with a nod as they reach his door. "I'll probably see you tomorrow then."

"Probably," John responds while he heads for the next set of steps. "Goodnight, Lars."

"Goodnight, John," Lars says just before closing his door.

A minute later, John steps out into the cool night air with thoughts of a certain stubborn doctor on his mind.

* * *

It's been only hours, but it seems more like days since she's left her apartment and she happily, if wearily shrugs out of her new jacket. There's only been a few times that her patrol has seemed to take forever like it did tonight. The first night she patrolled with her new partner, the night of Coldstone's awakening and the day that Matt confronted her about the gargoyles.

With a sigh, she strips off her holster and hangs it up on the coat rack next to her jacket before reaching down and petting Cagney. After giving the cat some much needed love, she pulls her gun out of its holder and heads for the kitchen where she safely stores it away. Once that's taken care of, she gets out the cat food that Cagney is demanding, the feline sure his mistress won't remember unless he constantly rubs against her legs.

As she places the food bowl on the floor, she hears a quiet 'thump' out on her balcony and a smile plays across her lips. She feels even more of the tension leaving her shoulders as she heads for the sliding glass door. A familiar shadow appears against the closed curtain and the last of the stress just seems to slip away.

"Good evening, Elisa," Goliath greets as he steps into her apartment.

"Hey, Big Guy," she responds. "How'd patrol go?"

"Fairly uneventful," he answers while he shuts the door behind him. "Stopped a few muggers, a hold up and some gang members from starting a brawl."

"I'd hate to hear what an 'eventful' patrol would be like for you," she chuckles as she crosses the living room.

"How was your evening?" he asks.

"Stressful," she replies with a lopsided smile as she collapses onto the couch. "Matt spent most of the night trying to convince me that we needed to check out Gwen's neighborhood to make sure everything was ok. And when a call came in about some monsters being spotted in her apartment building, I was afraid that he was going to sit in my lap and take over driving. I tell ya, the guy is a bit obsessive over this lady and in the process he's driving me crazy."

"Then it would not help to know that I met the other man she went out with," he says as he takes a seat near her.

"What's he like?" she asks.

"He wishes to protect her, but he does not wish to anger her," he answers thoughtfully. "I believe he has already chosen her to be his mate."

"And she's ok with this?" she questions.

"I don't believe that she's aware of his feelings for her, at least not yet," he replies. "Though, she did seem to be a bit distracted by the pain in her foot. He wasn't happy about Lexington or Brooklyn getting close to her, but he didn't say anything or try to stop them. I don't think he likes us."

"Well, like I've said before, you guys do take a bit of getting used to," she points out. "Give him time. If she's as thrilled about knowing you guys as she seems, then he's either going to have to accept you or move on."

"I imagine Matt would be quite happy if this man moved on," he says.

"I doubt it," she replies. "Matt's like a kid with a shiny, new toy. Eventually he'll get bored with it and move on."

"You don't believe Matt's feelings for her are genuine?" he inquires.

"I think Matt sees her as a bit of a puzzle," she answers. "Once he's figured her out, he'll either be intrigued or he'll lose interest. My money is on the later. That's provided she doesn't finally convince him she's not interested."

"You don't think she's interested in him?" he questions.

"I've seen her around him and around other men and Matt just seems to make her jumpy," she tells him. "It could be that he came onto her so strong at the start that she's turned off and has no intention of letting it go any farther. She wouldn't give Matt a kiss at the end of their date, but Lex, Brooklyn, Broadway and Angela all confirm that she was going to let John kiss her last night. The way I see it, she's more comfortable with John and Matt just doesn't stand a chance. Of course, if what Matt says about her eventually returning to Switzerland is true then he never had a chance to begin with. It's probably for the best any ways."

"How so?" he asks.

"There's something about her that doesn't quite sit right with me," she tries to explain. "I did a background check and she is from Switzerland and she did live in Boston with a family member and she did put herself through school and she is still paying off her student loans, but there's something else. Something that I'm sure she's not telling us. I have no hard evidence, it's just a gut feeling, but I believe there's more to Gwen Knight than meets the eye."


	28. Helping

**Author's Notes 1:** This picks up right where the last chapter left off so you might want to go and refresh your memory by rereading the last scene from the last chapter.

* * *

"I believe I stated as much the night we met her," Goliath reminds Elisa.

"Guess you're glad to know you're not the only one whose spider sense is tingling," Elisa jokes and Goliath gives her a strange look. "Sorry, comic book reference. I guess you're glad to know that you're not the only one to have doubts about Gwen Knight."

"I know why I feel the way I do, but why do you feel this way?" he inquires.

"It's strange how she seems to know how to behave around gargoyles," she answers. "For instance, why would she tell Brooklyn what she's about to do to him instead of just doing it?"

"Why shouldn't she?" he asks, slightly affronted by the idea of someone just grabbing him or one of his clan mates.

"Because her normal patients don't talk and wouldn't understand if she did tell them what she's about to do to them," she points out. "You were right when you said that it seems like she grew up around gargoyles, she just seems to know what to say and do. It's very odd."

" Lexington and Brooklyn seem to have grown fond of her too," he muses, his voice a deep rumble. "I will tell them to avoid her from now on."

"No, don't do that," she instructs.

"Why not?" he demands. "If this woman is a threat to my clan…"

"That's just it, I don't think she's a threat to anyone," she explains. "I'll grant you that she's odd and there's something that she's not telling us, but I don't think she's dangerous. Besides, if you tell Lex and Brooklyn to not go near her, they're just going to do it behind your back. Let them continue their friendship with her and then just listen when they talk about her."

"You want me to use them to spy on her?" he questions as she picks up the TV remote from the end table.

"Not so much as spy on her, but just to keep tabs on things," she assures him as she moves closer to him on the couch. "I'm sure if there's something really going on that we need to worry about, it'll show up sooner or later."

"I do not like it, but I will follow your council for now," he replies with a sigh while welcoming her into his arms. "But if anything changes…"

"Then let me know and we'll look into it together," she says as she settles in beside him. "So, Leno or Letterman?"

"Excuse me?" he asks, completely befuddled by her question.

"O'Brian it is then," she chuckles as she pushes the power button, turning the TV on.

He just smiles and shakes his head as she changes the channel to watch some man talking to a woman who is probably beautiful by human standards, but can't compare to his mate. With a contented sigh, she relaxes against him, letting all of the worries and concerns of the day wash away as he gently strokes her hair and soon she can feel herself drifting away in the arms of the one she loves.

* * *

The throbbing in her foot is what finally wakes Gwen and it takes her a while to remember why that appendage is in pain. The memories flood her brain and she groans with a cringe as she vaguely recalls what nearly happened the night before. Did she really ask John if he was going to kiss her?

With a moan, she pulls down the covers enough to look over at her clock and nearly has a heart attack; she's way overslept. Figuring she simply forgot to set the alarm in her drug hazed state the night before, she starts to fight her way out of bed. Throwing back the covers, she carefully gets out of bed and then hobbles to the bathroom as fast as she can.

Just as she's about to close the bathroom door, she realizes she can smell fresh coffee. She knows she didn't set up the coffee maker the night before, so the delightful scent has her both confused and worried. She cautiously follows her nose towards the kitchen and stops dead in her tracks when she sees who's sitting at her little table.

"Good morning," John cheerfully greets.

"Hi," she hesitantly replies. "You haven't been here all night have you?"

"No," he answers as he holds up a large take out cup of coffee. "I brought coffee and donuts."

"How'd you get in?" she asks, taking a tiny step forward.

"Lars let me in," he tells her. "You didn't answer when I buzzed you so I buzzed his apartment. He wasn't too happy about being woken up, let me tell you. Did you know that you can bribe him with a large cup of Italian Roast and a jelly donut?"

"Jelly donut?" she questions wistfully, hobbling a little closer.

"And Italian Roast," he tells her as he gets up and brings her the cup.

"You're cheating," she whimpers as he holds the cup under her nose.

"All's fair…," he starts with a mischievous grin.

"This isn't war," she whispers.

"No, it's not," he confirms as he moves into her personal space.

"You're really complicating my life," she tells him in a hushed voice as she takes the cup.

"Good," he responds as he gently brushes some of her sleep mussed hair out of her face. "The simple life is overrated."

She wants to argue with him, she wants to point out how easy the simple life is, how uncomplicated it is, but she can't. He's standing so close she can feel the heat coming from his body and he smells better than the coffee. God help her, but she wants him to hold her and kiss her.

"Go get cleaned up and I'll save you a jelly donut," he tells her as he softly rubs the back of his finger across her cheek.

Before she can gather her wits to even acknowledge what he's just said, he turns and heads back to his seat. She stands there for several moments trying to gather together something that resembles composure before turning and slowly making her way into the bathroom. As soon as the door is shut, she leans against it and sighs. Why do men always have to make things so complicated?

* * *

A few hours later, the coffee and donuts are long gone, he's talked her into taking the day off and she's finally getting a chance to catch up on the paper work she's been neglecting. John is quietly reading a book that he brought with him, not complaining in the least about how numb his butt is by sitting on her lumpy stuffed chair. She tries to keep her eyes on the papers in front of her on the table, but she keeps finding herself staring at him.

He may not be as tall or even as handsome as Matt Bluestone, but that's fine with her. John is good looking in his own right and he has a very fit body if the well defined torso she saw the other night is anything to go by. And his lips, dear lord, it should be illegal for a man to have lips that sensual looking. She suddenly realizes that she's staring again and quickly turns back to her paperwork.

He barely manages to keep a smile off of his lips when he hears her furiously writing once more, knowing that she was watching him again. She has no idea how good it makes him feel to have her finally notice him as something more than a friend or a coworker. For nearly two years he's been trying to get her to go out with him without any luck. Who knew that it would take a wounded gargoyle and a complete stranger to break her out of her routine?

The sound of her chair scraping across the floor pulls him away from his musing and he looks over to her. He watches as she carefully gets to her feet and then slowly starts to hop away, completely ignoring her crutches again.

"Need help?" he asks.

"No, I'm good," she answers while she slowly hobbles away.

"If you change your mind, just let me know," he tells her.

"Sure thing," she replies in a falsely cheerful voice.

"You ok?" he questions in concern, noting the pain in her voice that she's trying to hide.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she responds, trying not to whimper when she accidentally bumps her foot.

"When did you last take your pain meds?" he inquires as he gets up and easily catches up to her with only a few steps.

"Umm…," she hedges.

"They won't do you any good if you don't take them," he points out while he wraps her arm around his good arm.

"The codeine makes me sleepy," she counters as she holds onto him.

"Then take something else," he suggests while they slowly and awkwardly move down the hallway.

"I used up the last of my aspirin the other day," she tells him.

"Ok, then after your potty break, we'll go find lunch and then we'll get you something that won't make you sleepy," he says just as they reach the bathroom door.

"But I can't…," she starts only to stop when a finger lands on her lips.

"I checked your fridge," he states. "You've got nothing in there that resembles food, though you've got a lovely mold culture growing in there. When was the last time you went grocery shopping?"

"I was going to do it yesterday but I ended up sleeping most of the day away," she admits after he moves his finger.

"Then we'll do the grocery shopping after lunch," he tells her.

"But…," she tries to argue again.

"No more 'buts'," he firmly replies. "Now go take care of business and then we'll get going."

"I'm not going to get any say in this, am I?" she asks and he smiles at her.

"Once you're feeling better you can tell me to get lost," he answers. "But until then, I'm going to take care of you."

"Why?" she inquires.

"Because you need someone to take care of you every once and a while, we all do, and I want to be that someone," he quietly admits, gently caressing her face with his finger tips.

"John…," she starts only to find that intrusive digit back on her lips again.

"Let me have this for now," he softly begs, resting his forehead against hers. "When you're back on your feet, then you can tell me to get lost."

She can only sigh as her shoulders sag in defeat and she leans her head against his good shoulder. His good arm slips around her waist and his spirits soar when he feels her arms circle his middle. He barely dares to breathe as they stand there and when she finally moves out of his embrace, it feels like she's taken a part of his soul with her.

She quietly and a bit clumsily makes her way into the small washroom feeling like she's changed the course of her life and she's not sure if it's a good thing or not, but at the moment she doesn't care. She takes her time, delaying for as long as possible, not sure she can face him and is a bit surprised when he doesn't knock on the door after a few minutes. She stares at herself in the mirror for some time trying to steel her nerves and quell the butterflies in her stomach before facing him again.

When she finally does emerge, she finds him leaning against the opposite wall and patiently waiting for her. He extends his good arm towards her and she carefully takes the offered appendage. They slowly make their way back towards the living area where she finds her shoes already waiting for her and her crutches by the door. She draws a breath to speak and she finds his finger on her lips again making her scowl.

"I'm going to help you," he tells her gently but firmly and she pulls his hand away from her face.

"Fine, please get my shopping bags out from the bottom drawer on the right in the kitchen," she instructs in an annoyed voice.

"Certainly," he replies sheepishly as he leaves her at her seat to retrieve the bags.

Knowing that putting a shoe on her injured foot will only cause her vast amounts of pain, she puts only one shoe on while he gets the bags out. He brings her her jacket and slides his own coat on as best he can while she puts hers on. He helps her get to her crutches and then after a lot of fumbling around and at least one near fall, they finally make their way out of the building and head off to lunch and grocery shopping.

* * *

"I've never seen someone with such willpower going through the grocery store before," he admits as he helps her back up to her apartment a couple of hours later with her groceries.

"Willpower has nothing to do with it," she tells him as she unlocks her apartment door, a shopping bag hanging from each shoulder. "I can't afford to buy junk food or things that have been processed to death. I buy what I need and then get out. It's not that hard when you have a system."

"I guess it doesn't help when you bring a tourist along," he chuckles while she opens the door and hobbles in.

"Is it really that hard to just push a cart?" she growls, but he knows she doesn't really mean it.

"But they had a sale on my favorite beer," he reminds her and she rolls her eyes.

"Now there's a necessity of life," she replies sarcastically as he shuts the door behind him with his foot.

"It will be when I'm done with it," he snickers while she puts her crutches off to the side and then places her shopping bags on the counter.

"What have you got up your sleeve, John Richards?" she asks over her shoulder, eyes narrowed, but a smile tugging at her lips.

"Thirty-two stitches," he answers as he steps up behind her and she grimaces.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, hanging her head, unable to look at him. "It's my fault you got hurt."

"Yeah, it is," he smugly replies next to her ear and she can feel the goose bumps returning with him standing as close as he is. "And since you owe me, you have to let me take care of you and that means I'm making you dinner."

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" she asks, looking over her shoulder again at him. "Shouldn't I be doing nice things for you?"

"You are," he answers with a hint of laughter in his voice. "You're letting me complicate your life."

She lets out a groan and starts to bang her head against the upper cabinets until his arm wraps itself around her waist and she finds herself picked up and spun away from the counter. She lets out a startled squeak and she can hear and feel him chuckling low in his throat right next to her ear which causes shivers to run down her spine. She clings to his arm as she's fairly sure even her good leg won't be able to hold her weight if he lets go and she can feel his hot breath on her ear as he rubs his nose against the outer shell of it. She bites her bottom lip, desperately trying not to moan as his arm tightens around her and the fingers of his injured arm spanning themselves across her ribs.

**_BZZZZZZZZZTTT!!!!_**

She lets out a small shriek and jumps at the sound of the door buzzer going off and she barely notices him go completely still as her heart feels like it's going to burst from her chest. After getting over the shock, she starts to wonder who it could be at the front door and before she can protest, she feels her foot leave the ground as he carries her to the intercom. He releases her and steps back as she hesitantly pushes the 'talk' button.

"Yes?" she calls through the machine and then pushes the 'listen' button.

"Hey, beautiful, it's me," Matt's voice crackles through the device.

She lets go of the button as if she's been bit and all of the color drains from her face while she's certain that at any minute she's going to go into cardiac arrest. She looks at John with horror clearly written across her face as he buzzes Matt into the building.

"Guess it's time to meet the competition," John states with a smile that turns into a grin when he hears her audibly gulp.

* * *

**Author's Notes 2:** A bit shorter than normal and not as much gargoyle goodness, but it seemed like a good place to end it and let's face it, sleeping gargoyles don't exactly make for a riveting chapter. 


	29. Confessions

**Author's Notes 1: ** Again, this chapter picks up where the last one left off. Enjoy.

* * *

"What competition?" she squeaks.

"Gwen, the only men you know outside of work are gay and no gay man is going to call you 'beautiful' in that tone of voice," he answers with an ill concealed smirk. "Plus you turned as white as a sheet when you heard his voice, so I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that this is the guy who took you out Friday night."

"How…?" she stammers.

"Come on, Tony and Lily knew about the invitations," he chuckles. "That means everyone knew about them. You should be glad Weisman didn't get wind of them."

"Which reminds me," she says, her eyes narrowing. "How is it that you invited me out in the same exact manner as Matt?"

"Later," he whispers in her ear as someone knocks at the door. "Your guest is here."

He steps away from her before she can grab a hold of him and moves further from the door so that he's well behind it when it opens. She gives him a good hard glare as Matt knocks a second time and John points to the door with an amused look on his face. She mutters a few choice words in German before hopping the rest of the way to the door and opening it.

"Hi," she nervously greets when she opens the door.

"Hi, yourself," Matt replies as he steps into the apartment uninvited, forcing her to hold onto the door as she hops out of the way. "I stopped by your work and they said you called in sick today."

"Yeah, I had a bit of an accident the other night," she tells him.

"So I…heard…," he starts, his words fading when he sees they're not alone. "Umm…"

"Matt, this is John Richards," she introduces as she shuts the door. "John and I work together. John, this is Matt Bluestone. He's Elisa's partner."

"Hey, how are you?" John greets, acting as if he's actually glad to meet Matt, his hand extended as he steps forward.

"Good, nice to meet you," Matt replies, not sounding nearly as thrilled as John as he grasps the offered hand.

Gwen watches them as the two men stare at each other with false smiles plastered on their faces while their knuckles turn white. She quickly realizes that they're both trying to out squeeze the other and she scowls at their hands.

"You two release any more testosterone and I'll neuter the both of you," she growls, causing both men to let go and quickly step apart as the turn and stare at her in surprise.

With that, she turns and hobbles back to the kitchen, ignoring the pain shooting up her leg and starts to pull the groceries out of the bags.

"So, how did you and Gwen meet?" John asks as he squeezes into the kitchen with Gwen, slips his arm out of its sling and starts pulling out the ingredients for dinner from his shopping bag.

"We met after Elisa came to check on Lex and Brooklyn the day after Brooklyn's first operation," she answers when Matt hesitates in his reply. "They gave me a lift to work."

"Oh really?" John questions with a raised eyebrow. "That must be when the new boyfriend rumors started at work. You didn't mention him the other night when you were telling me about the gargoyles."

"It wasn't important to the story," she replies with a shrug as she puts food into the fridge. "Besides, I only told you about Monday night when I first met the gargoyles and Elisa. I hadn't met Matt yet."

"And I bet Demona being a complete psychopath who's more likely to rip your head off then look at you wasn't important to the story either," John grumbles.

"I didn't know about that, I swear," she responds as more food is put away in nearly empty cupboards. "I knew she was responsible for Brooklyn getting hurt and I know she attacked Elisa, but both incidents could be blamed on the fact that she was going into her reproductive cycle. I didn't realize that she had it in for the others."

"So you two really did try and take on Demona," Matt muses with a shake of his head and the other two turn towards him, both almost forgetting that he's even in the apartment with them. "You're both crazy, you know that?"

"I've been called worse," Gwen says as she works on putting the empty grocery bags away.

"If I had any idea that she was about to pick a fight with that monster I would have thrown her over my shoulder and gotten the hell out of there," John vehemently tells Matt.

"That's pretty Neanderthal of you," she grumbles as she starts to hobble back over to the table.

"Does she normally take crazy risks like that?" Matt asks John.

"Come to think of it, yeah she does," John answers after a few moments of thinking about it. "But it's usually with animals that don't want whatever treatment she has in store for them.

"If you two are going to continue to malign my character, please do it elsewhere," she demands, picking up her pen and going back to her paperwork.

"Funny, I don't remember you being this cranky before," Matt says.

"Slice open your foot and see how it feels, then tell me I have to have a sunny disposition," she mutters as she props her foot on the extra table chair, leaving only one seat that still has John's book on it so Matt remains standing.

"You did take the pain pills, didn't you?" John asks her as he continues to work in the kitchen, concern tingeing his voice.

"Yes, I took the pain pills," she grumbles before muttering under her breath. "But it isn't doing a thing for the two biggest pains I happen to have right now."

"So, how long have you two been dating?" Matt tries to casually ask.

"Saturday night was our first date," John answers as he rummages around in the cupboards until he finds a mixing bowl.

"So, how did you ask her out?" Matt questions suspiciously.

"The same way as you did," John replies, not even bothering to look up from what he's doing. "I should thank you for the idea. I've been trying to get her to go out with me for nearly three years with no luck until you came along. Thanks."

"You're welcome," Matt nearly growls.

"You read the card before I did?" Gwen accuses, twisting around in her seat to glare at John.

"I was curious," he responds with a shrug as he digs around in the kitchen drawers. "Where's your bottle opener?"

"It's on the side of the fridge," she tells him. "You were jealous."

"Yeah, do you blame me?" John demands while he grabs the opener off of the appliance. "For nearly three years I've been trying to get you to go out with me. I was getting desperate and then here comes this guy who you don't even know and suddenly you're on the dating scene."

"But why?" she asks. "You know I'm moving back to Switzerland when I've paid off my loans. And for the record, I wasn't planning on going out with anybody, but a couple of other people had other ideas and I was dragged into this whole mess kicking and screaming."

"I know you plan on returning to Switzerland," he replies, his tone immediately softening while he opens a bottle of beer. "I was just hoping you'd give us a chance."

"But what's the point of trying if I'm just going to be moving away in a year or two?" she questions, confused and a bit exasperated.

John says nothing at first, but just stares at the open bottle of beer sitting on the counter in front of him. The silence stretches out for several long seconds before she gives a huff of frustration and then turns back to her papers. Matt watches them silently and he has a sinking suspicion any hope of dating Gwen is about to be blown out of the water.

"I was hoping…," he starts hesitantly and quietly, "…that when you left…I could go with you."

"You think I'll have time to play tour guide when I'm trying to move?" she demands, spinning back around to stare at him.

"I wasn't planning on going on vacation there," he says as he plays with the bottle cap.

"You're going to…what…move there?" she asks in confusion.

"Yeah," he answers softly.

"But why?" she inquires, baffled.

"Because you're there," he replies finally looking at her.

"But what about your family?" she questions, her brow furrowed with a frown of bewilderment.

"My parents died when I was eleven," he tells her as he steps out of the kitchen. "I was raised by my grandparents and they died several years ago. I'm not especially close to any of my aunts or uncles or cousins and they all live in other states anyways. I don't really have anyone to tie me here."

"You would move to another country, where you don't speak any of the languages…for me?" she asks in a whisper.

"If things work out between us, yeah," he answers as he moves closer to her. "Please, let's try; just give it a chance, that's all I'm asking. If it doesn't work out, then you move back to Switzerland and neither one of us has to worry about those weird, awkward times when you accidentally run into your ex at the grocery store or someplace. So what do you say? Can we at least try?"

She's stunned speechless that anyone would be willing to do that for her and all she can do is stare with a dumbfounded look on her face. It's not until his fingers gently touch the side of her face that she's startled out of her shock and she looks into his hazel eyes, still very much surprised.

"You would really do that…for me?" she questions softly.

"I would do almost anything for you," he replies quietly as he leans his face closer to hers. "Can you give us a chance?"

She's completely mesmerized by his eyes, the feeling of his fingers lightly stroking her face is scrambling her brain and the smell of him is making her body tingle in places she'd never admit to her mother.

"Please?" he breathes, his warm breath caressing her lips.

She doesn't trust herself to speak coherently so she gives a little nod and that's all the invitation he needs. His lips gently press against hers and she's not sure who lets out the moan, but she wouldn't be surprised if it was her. She loses herself in the feeling of those warm, soft lips on hers and she can't help but hope that the kiss will never end.

When it does end a short eternity later, she keeps her eyes shut trying to hold onto the moment just a little longer. When she finally opens her eyes, she sees him staring intently at her while her hand, that she wasn't even aware that she moved, gently caresses the side of his face. He kisses the palm of that hand and she gasps as shivers run up her arm and all through her body.

"I'm not sure I'm ready for this," she quietly confesses as he leans his forehead against hers.

"We'll take this as slow as you want," he assures her with a smile. "I've waited three years for you to go out with me, I can wait. I'm a very patient man."

"Or very a stubborn one," she teases with a grin fighting to get out.

"Then we're a perfect match," he shoots back with a laugh as he straightens back up. "I better get back to working on dinner. The marinade isn't going to make itself."

"And you're beer's going to go flat," she reminds him as she points at the open bottle on the counter.

"It's supposed to," he tells her while he makes his way back into the kitchen.

"You like your beer flat?" she asks, eyebrows raised.

"It's part of the marinade," he answers as he starts to pour the contents into the mixing bowl. "I know it sounds weird, but it's really good, trust me."

"Can I watch?" she softly inquires, her cheeks turning pink.

"Of course," he happily replies as he goes back to help her into the kitchen.

She quietly watches as he prepares the ingredients, makes the marinade and then adds it and a well pierced top sirloin into a resealable plastic bag.

"So now we let it sit for a couple of hours and then we'll broil it," he tells her after closing the refrigerator door and turning back around to her.

"You amaze me," she states as he moves even closer to her.

"How so?" he asks as he gently strokes the side of her face with the back of his fingers.

"You just do," she tells him as she leans forward and he gladly accepts her into his arms, ignoring the sting of his stitches.

He holds her as he rubs her back with his good hand while he buries his nose into her hair, smelling her shampoo and her own natural scent. He hasn't felt this happy in a long time and he hopes that it's a feeling that will last the rest of his life. Suddenly she stiffens and he reluctantly lets her go and watches as she looks around the apartment.

"What's the matter?" he inquires as she hobbles out of the kitchen and looks down the hallway.

"Where's Matt?"

* * *

He watches the city below them as the sunlight slowly fades and the neon and fluorescent lights take its place, making the city glow. He takes a deep breath of air that's well above most of the pollution stink and listens as the wind blows past him, his partner and the still sleeping gargoyles. He looks up at the darkening sky above him and wonders how many stars he would see if the light pollution from the city didn't fade their brilliance and wonders if it would be anything like it must be over a tiny little town in a tiny little valley in the Swiss Alps.

He lets out a sigh as he turns his gaze to his partner as she patiently waits for the male she loves to wake and then looks over at the mated gargoyle couple sleeping nearby. A movement down below catches his attention out of the corner of his eye and he looks down to see Xanatos and his family walking across the courtyard, hand in hand with his wife. He wonders if someday he'll find the one for him like so many others have, but his musings are interrupted by the sound of stone cracking and breaking.

He turns his attention back to the city that never sleeps while he waits for Elisa to finish greeting her beau, though she pretends nothing has changed, he's not a fool. He's seen the marks on her necks and he doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what they mean. He continues to stare down at the city and silently wonders if he could give it up for a woman even in the name of love.

"Matt, you ok?" Brooklyn quietly asks, breaking Matt away from his melancholy thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm just great," Matt answers, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

"I'm guessing things didn't work out to well when you went to go visit Gwen this afternoon," Elisa says from her spot at Goliath's side.

"You could say that," Matt replies. "Met John Richards. Seems like a nice guy."

"I met him last night," Goliath states. "He loves her."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out when he said he's been trying to ask her out for nearly three years and is willing to move to Switzerland to be with her," Matt says. "I can't really hope to compete with that now can I? I'm just glad I got out of there before they started kissing. It's probably for the best anyways. I'm not sure I'd like dating a gal who not only threatens, but could actually neuter me."

"Neuter?" Goliath asks, looking down at Elisa.

"That's when a doctor…um…takes a male's…um…," Elisa stammers, blushing profusely as she tries to find the words and fails. "You know what? You'll probably be much happier never knowing what that means."

The gargoyles look at her in confusion and then turn to her partner with expectant looks on their faces.

"She's right," Matt agrees, trying not to laugh. "You'll be much happier never knowing."

"Before this gets any more embarrassing, we should get back to work," Elisa insists, the chilly wind doing nothing to cool her hot cheeks. "Come on, partner. I'll buy you a cup of coffee and then you can vent about fickle veterinarians."

"You're on," Matt replies as they start for the stairs.

"Come, we have work to do as well," Goliath states after watching the two humans go.

"So, where do you want to patrol tonight?" Brooklyn asks Lex.

"Anywhere but the Bronx," Goliath growls at the two of them and Bronx makes a confused noise as he tilts his head at the clan leader.

"He doesn't mean you, boy," Lex assures the hound while rubbing the hound's head.

A short time later, six figures take to the skies while somewhere in the Bronx a pair of friends starts to find something more to their relationship.

_**Fini**_

* * *

**Author's Notes 2:** What do you know? I finally finished a story. But fear not, my lovelies, there is a follow up story to this one brewing in my little head, but it may be a while before I get it started. Keep an eye out for Healing Hearts where Gwen finally returns to Switzerland. 


End file.
